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of  th 
filmi 


Orlgl 
begii 
the  I 
slon, 
othe 
first 
slon, 
or  ill 


The 
shall 
TINl 
whic 

Map 
diffe 
entir 
begi 
righi 
requ 
metl 


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20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


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Douglas  Library 
Quaan's  Univarsity 


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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaira.  Las  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthoda. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Ill: 


THE 


NEW  WORLD: 


BHBRAOINa 


AMERICAN  HISTORY. 


BT 


HENRY    HOWARD    BROWNELL,    A.  M. 


TOIi.     fl. 

The  English  in  America.  —  History  of  the  Fonndation  of  the  several 

Provinces :  their  Colonial  Government :  Resistance  to  England.  — 

The  American  Revolution.— History  of  the  United  States. 

—The  Sandwich  Islands,  etc.,  etc. 

WITH 


NUMEROUS  BEAUTIFUL  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

DRAWN    AND    COLOURED    AFTER    NATURE, 
EMBRACim  PORTRAITS,   SCENERY,    CURIOSITIES,  CITIES,  PUBLIC  EDIFICES,  ETC.,  JtTC 


BOSTON: 
DAYTON     AND      WENTWORTH, 

86   WASHINGTON   STREET. 


CONTENTS. 


PAKT  VI. 
THE   ENGIISII  n   AMERICA. 

EAULT  VOYAGES   AND   ATTEMPTS   AT  COLONIZATION. 

OHAPTBIt  I 
CHAPTER    It. 

1081  With  the  Esquimaux ;  His  Third  Expedition ;  Its  Failure, T.  .  .'.   .  .^T.'.  a-. 

CHAPTER    ni. 

wlr  nlTrLrnl;:'  r  «"r'"^  ^'"""■''  "^^  ^^^^  ^'"""""  •^  C""""-  ^"i-lca;  sir 

::';'c;::t'L::orrHuCrera:dr^^^^ 

*  i.'6 

CnAPTli'R.  TV 

ThoPalonl.,fR„,ei^h:  he  Dispatch.,  Amidas  ami  Barlow  to  Carollna-lheir  Report •  th,.  Conn.rv 

!» 

CHAPTER   V 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF   VIRGINIA. 

.     ■  CHAPTER    I. 

Viriilala,..;....,  _..;".      Exc„r.i„„  .,f  Smith  ami  Newport;  Powh„tan;  the  Indians  of 

42 

't:!:;'rr™ri::;:!i'^!:!::"'i?r '- ^i^r^^  ^"'^'  "^  ^"  '■- --- 

.   ..  uu  .^„,.c,al,>,,  lV,t„nK»..vithiholmtiaHsj  Idle  and  MisiTnt.l.H: ,;.,.     ^« 


CONTENTS. 

6 

CMAI'TFIt    IV  PAClt 

K.x|"'inil(in  iiiiilt'uplHrcnrSinllh— hliStniiiKK  A(IV(iiiuir(»ciiniiiiB;lh«Iii(llnn«;CnnJiinitlimn)Brfiiriii<id 
iiKir  liiiii;  III!  In  CHirlcd  lo  rdwliiitiiii •,  Ills  Mfu  Huvi'd  by  roculioiiliis ;  HlmiiKo  Mii»(iunriulH  of 
Puwhiilttii ;  Ki'liiaa*!  and  Uulurii  of  t^inltli, 40 

OlIAl'TKK    V 

Pilviitldiiii  of  UioCiiIoiiIrIb;  n«llnvn<tby  Pooiihoiiliw;  Arrival  of  NowpDrirrnm  Eiinliiiiilj  liilHrciiiir»o 
una  TnillU'  with  Powliiilnii;  lUiin  Ilciiils  for  Oniwii  JcwhIb;  ImiiKiniiry  (Jiilil  Mine;  HmltliV  Vuyiigo 
111  llKiClii'sniumlns  liilurvliiwB  wlllimiincriiiu  Niillv.i  Tribuu;  BlIiiK-iiiy  Puliil;  Ills  Uuliirii, is 

OHATTKH    VI4 

Hin  Ml  imiili'  Prcsidi'iil ;  liti  KdHumcii  ttio  Survey ;  Ihu  fiii"iim'hiiiiHBii;  Advi'iitiiri-s  with  th«  Indinin; 
llrnmrkiihli  b'fiit  111' Hiirvry  ;  RuUirii  to  Jiiiiiciiluwii ;  Arrival  of  Newport;  Ahmird  IiintnictloiiH  of 
Ihu  KiikIIhIi  Coiiipaiiy ;  thu  Ooroimllon  of  Piiwlmtaii ;  UiiBiiccuBafiil  AtUinipt  uf  Nuwport  lo  lliid  llio 
J<uiUh  tiiiK, M 

CHAl'TKK    VII. 

Plot  iiR»liii>t  Smith ;  Ills  Letler  lo  the  Company ;  llli  KffortB  to  Biipporl  tlio  Colony ;  Kxpedltlon  to 
MurpriMi  PowkRtun ;  Artful  Upwclios,  and  Mutual  Truachury ;  the  KngllBh  iigalu  leaved  by  Pucahonlag,    5U 

OUAPTBK    VIII. 

The  Pint  «t  Piinmnkey— Refeatefl  by  the  DRrliiif  and  Knergy  of  Hmilh  ;  the  Oniony  Hupplied ;  Pnillh 
Polsniied ;  Ills  IJiidcrupulous  Policy ;  Ilia  I''l«lit  with  thu  King  of  PuapiibOKli ;  "  Prelly  AccldHiita" 

among  the  Indiana, 01 

oit*i'rKii  IX. 

IdlenttBS  of  the  Settlers ;  Elnquont  Speech  and  Vigorous  Pulley  of  Smith ;  th«  New  VlrglnlaCompsny ; 
I'liJiiBt  ABsimiplion  of  Power;  Smith  Deposed;  (Jrcat  Expedition  dispiilched  from  Engliind -111- 
lorlunu;  Arrival  of  Numerous  Immigrants ;  Anarchy;  BiMllh  UoasBumes  tho  I'reBiilency, 61 

CUAl'TKll    X. 

Futile  Attempts  at  Founding  Now  Settlements;  Polly  and  Obstinacy  of  ihe  CnlonlBts;  Smith  terribly 
Injured ;  lie  Returns  to  England ;  Ills  Services  to  Ihu  Colony ;  Awful  Suffering  and  Mortalily  Hl'tur 
his  Departure, 67 

CHai'TKK    XI 

Memoir  of  Smith,  coiitliUTOl  and  concluded ;  IMb  Voyage  to  New  England,  and  Surveys;  IIIb  Second 
I'.xpedilioii;  Ills  Adventures  among  the  Pirates— his  Escape;  Ills  (irent  Exerliiuu  for  Iho  Seitlo- 
uient  of  New  England;  Interesting  Interview  between  Smith  and  PocuhontttS  in  Eiiglmid;  l.iiat 
Veurs  of  Smith ;  Ilia  Death ;  Ills  Ohaructor  and  Achievements, 69 

CHAPTKR    XII. 

Arrival  of  Rules;  Miserable  Condition  of  the  Oniony  ;  Jamestown  Deserted;  Arrival  of  Lord  Dels- 
ware — nf  Hlr  Thomas  Dale;  Exertions  of  tho  Company;  Increased  Inimigration;  tho  Culture  of 
Tobiicco  introduced,  and  Eagerly  Pursued  ;  Tyrimny  of  Argnll— his  Displacement;  Oreat  Aec;!8«iim 
uf  Ituniigrants ;  Wives  purchased  with  Tobacco ;  Liberal  Concessions  lu  the  Colonists, 77 

OIHrTKR    XIII. 

Wyalt  Covernor ;  Negro  Slavery  Introduced ;  Death  of  Powhatan  and  Succession  of  Opechancanouiih ; 
Plot  ncvised  by  the  I.aller ;  Terrible  Massacre  of  tho  English ;  Deiiression  of  tho  Colony ;  Usurpa- 
tion of  the  Patent  liy  James  I. ;  Prudent  Policy  toward  the  Colunist.i, SO 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  HEW  ENGLAND. 

OlIAnER    I. 

I'nsut'cessful  Attempts  of  the  Plymouth  Company  lo  Settle  New  England  ;  Persecution  of  the  Nnn- 
ronl'nrmlsls;  Relreiu  of  Robinson's  Coiigregalinn  lo  Ilollnnd— their  High  Character— their  Resolu- 
tion lo  Plant  u  Colony -their  Loyalty  and  Courage— Departure  from  Delft  lluven, Kl 

OlIArTiR    II 

stormy  Vi^yiige  of  tho  Pilgrims  to  America ;  they  Arrive  ut  Cape  Cod— are  Compelled  to  Disembiirls 
— Institute  a  Republic  ;  their  Simple  Constltuli(ui ;  Carver  elected  Governor;  Absence  of  Personal 
Ambition  among  Uie  Puritan  Settlers, i<6 

ClIAI'TKH    II! 

Dreary  Appearance  of  New  England;  Exploring  Piirly  ;  Strange  Injiislice  to  Iho  Indians;  ThcVoynse 
to  Plvnioiilh  Ihirbour;  Skirmish  wilh  the  Suvii«e«;  Silllement  nf  Plymnulh  I'nuiidid;  Great  Suf- 
fering and  Mortality  among  the  Pilgrims, t*B 


CONTENTS.  m 

OUAriKB    IT  p^j„ 

Tl"- 1 """  "f  "ow  EiiglMid-lhlnned  by  Pemilonce ;  Die  PequoH,  NnmignntplUi,  nnil  «lh«r  Tr.ln,8  ■ 

i;»im.H<luiiiry  Opliiluim of  the  EnKllah  concurnli.K  them;  BlguUnl  Accouiui.  „f  iho  Anclont  HIhUj- 
riaus,  ulCi ^^ 

OHAPTSR    V. 

Banimcl-"  Wolome,  Engll.limmi;"  Ihe  VLU  of  Mmmhm.II;  Tn-aty  nml  Allliiiicn;  M.irlnlUy  nmona 
llHiCloniitlS  l)«Ml.orU()veriiorCaivor;  Diiol,  uml  Ita  Puiil.lmu.nl ;  Vii.it  U)  Mu.iiaii„lt-i..  |y„„. 
uugli  i  Airocliiiif  Iiioiileiit, 

OTIAPTICH    71. 

Arrival  of  Iha  Fortune;  ChnllflMK..  from  Caiionlcim-hl.  SuperBtllloug  Priiad ;  Plymouth  Forllflc.l- 
Wi'sUiirj  Colony  at  Woymoulh-lto  Mlwruble  UoiiUiUon;  Miu<»a»oU  Ill-cured  by  the  EiiiiliHhi 

l)«iit(orou»  Plot  Ruvoalod, ^ 

vn 

CHAPTEH    VII 

KxpiKlilloM  Of  atandidh  tn  Weymouth ;  Dnrli.K  Policy ;  8lau((hter  of  the  Con.plrln?  ludlanx ;  the  Col- 
uny  (.1  VVenlou  llrokon  up ;  IVivatlona  and  Huffurlnga  at  Plynioulh-Droughl-skmBoiiable  8»m)ly  of 
Kuiii;  Additioiml  Arrival, .. 

OHAfTEK    VI!I. 

New  Pflllpmenta  Founded;  New  HampBhIro  and  Maine;  Eudicott'a  Compiiny;  the  Rovcllem  of 
Merry  ftlouiil-llri.ken  up  by  the  Puriliiiis;  Settlement  of  Mnseachuiiolli.;  F.iUiidulion  of  Duston; 
Greul  Eiuigi'uliiui ;  Morlality  and  Suffering, '  .... 

OBAPTEB    IX. 

Charactur  of  Ihe  Founders  of  MaBUKchuselUi;  RvEulntloua  for  Public  Morality— for  Apparel  etc.- 
Aiuusiiii}  PcnallicB;  InUileruiice  In  Uullglou ;  Cominencemeiit  of  rerBtculiou, '.....!  IW 

CHAI'Trcit    X. 

Rev.  Rcirer  Wllliama;  Ills  Liberal  Opinloni,;  he  la  Persecuted  by  Ihe  Authorities  of  Maasachuaetts • 
EipHled  from  thai  Province ;  takea  Refuge  In  the  Wildornesa ;  Founds  Providence  Planlallons  and 

llie  Sliile  of  Rhode  Island, ,^ 

iOy 

OHAPTKB    XI. 

lietltemeiit  of  Connecticut  by  Plymoulh-by  MssKachUBolla;  H.irdshlpa  of  the  Colonist*;  Foundation 
(ifllarlfor.l,elc;  Emigration  under  Hooker- New  Haven  Founded;  Commencement  of  the  Pequot 
Wiir;  iMlluuiice  of  Roger  Williams, .,„ 

OHAPTKB    XII. 

ThBPcqnotWar.conllnuod;  the  Altnck  cm  Welhersfleld ;  Expedition  under  Mason;  Surprise  and 
SlorniinKof  ihe  Pequot  Fort-Terrible  Slaughter  and  C-oufl.igrniion ;  Final  Defeat  and  Destruction 
ofllieTiibe;  Barbaruuii  Exultation  of  the  Early  Hlstoiiuns;  Heflectlona, 114 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  MARYLAND. 


OHAPTBR    I 

SirGooritB  Calvert-hls  Schemes  for  Settlenienia  In  America-he  Obtains  the  Orant  of  Marjlond- 
Founds  a  Colony  there;  Settlement  of  HI.  Mary's ;  Relations  with  the  Indians;  Expulsion  of  Cliiy- 
loriie;  Diacunteut  and  Insurrection ;  Protestant  Settlers ;  Act  for  the  Toleralion  of  all  Christian  S^fcls,  IIH 

0HAPT2R    II. 

Arhilrary  yyslem  of  I.ord  nallimore;  Disalltectlon  of  the  Protestant  Settlers ;  Interference  of  Ihe  Vlr- 
Ciiiia  Uommissioncis;  Affairs  In  England;  Triumph  of  the  Protcstanls;  Repeal  of  Toleration- 
(ivil  W«r;  Victory  of  the  Protestants;  Fendall's  Insurrecllon-his  Success  and  Final  Ruin  •  Toler^ 

181 


allon  Restored,. 


VIRGINIA — CONTINUED. 


OnAPTKR    I. 

RciRn  of  Charles  I.-his  Views  of  Vb^ginta ;  Ycardley,  rrt>vernor-West-IIarvry-hIs  Dep,«ltlon  by 
lli«  Pmple-he  Is  Supported  by  the  Crown ;  Wyatt;  Sir  WIIliHm  Rerkelcy,  Governor;  Loyally  of 
llic'Cniony;  IVrwcution  of  nicsenlers;  Second  Indinn  Conspiracy  and  Massacre;  Opechaneancmgh 
a  PrlS(iiior-l,i,  Speech-Murdered  by  a  .Sddler;  Reduction  of  the  Indians ;  Triumph  of  Ihe  Puri- 
tans In  Eiiglaiid  ;  Royalist  Emigration  to  Virginia ;  Loyally  of  the  Province 1<^1 


8 


CONTENTS. 


oiiAPTicK  II                                                                  riat 
Act  for  the  RiMliiclInn  of  Virerlnla;  the  NnvlRulldn  Act;  Mn<l»rntlnn  of  thd  Pnrllhmflnt ;  HiihmlMlon 
of  thi'  Provlncii;  lloiiiuitt,  Govuriior— Uit(i(8— MalhcwB ;  Jeuloiify  oflliB  Aiuieiiibly  aKHiimt  Kunnji 
Inltirrureiicu ;  Freedom  iiiiil  Provpi'rlty  cif  VIritliiiii  iiiider  the  C(ininii>nwuiiltli ;  Death  uf  Criimwell  ■ 
Berkulc)',  Guvemur ;  KenUimtluii  uf  Clmrlea  II. ;  Its  111  Effect  uii  the  Pruvluco, jc^ 

HEW   ENGLAND — CONTHrUED. 

OHAPTBB  I. 

Inimical  MoHBures  uduplcd  In  England  ;  Spirit  uf  MaBniichiuietts— Threat  of  Revolt ;  the  Eiigllnh  Rev 
olution;  Industry  and  Prosperity  of  New  England— it»  Iiidopendeiice;  New  Hampshire  Aiiiieied 
to  Masaachuaetts;  Formation  of  the  New  England  Confederacy, ijq 

OlIAFTSH    II. 

Uncui  and  Mlonlonimo;  Defeat  nnd  Death  of  the  Latter;  Discredit  to  the  English;  Rhode  tslajid— 
ita  Libertiva  Guaranteed  by  the  Purliumuiit;  Letter  to  Sir  Henry  Vane ;  Remarkable  Freedom  Kn- 
Joyed  there ;  Maine  Annexed  by  Mussachiisetta, ly^ 

OBAPTBB    III, 

Opposition  tu  the  Massachusetts  Authorities ;  Parliamentary  Encroachment  Resisted  and  Relliiqiiii-hi  U ; 
New  England  Favoured  by  Cromwell ;  Bigoted  and  Intolerant  Laws  of  Massnuliusetls;  Prrsecutloii 
of  llaptlsts;  the  Quakers— Persecution  of  them— Four  Kxixuled— llieir  Courage  and  Forliiudu; 
Apologists  for  the  Hangings;  Retlections, ]3|| 

CnAPTBB  IV. 

Education  in  Mosanchusetts ;  Harvord  College;  Restoration  of  Charles  II.;  Oppri'ssive  Enaclmenls 
concerning  Commerce;  Altitude  of  tlio  Colonies;  Winthrop,  the  Younger;  CoJinecticul  oblaiiia 
a  Charter— her  Freedom  and  Prosperity, m 

CnAPTKR  V. 

The  Charter  of  Rhode  Island ;  Civil  and  Religious  Liberty ;  Careless  and  Extensive  Grants  of  Charles 
II.;  tlio  Attitude  of  Massachusetts- Distrust  of  the  Restoration;  Re((ulsitions  of  Charles  II.;  Ap- 
pointment of  a  Commission ;  Alarm  of  the  Colony, 143 

CnAPTKR    VI. 

Remonstrance  of  Mossachueetts ;  Doings  of  the  Commissioners—their  Disputes  with  the  Aulhorilii^s— 
their  Discomfiture  and  Return  to  England  ;  Successful  Resistance  of  Massacliusells ;  Incrtnevs  of 
the  Crown;  Prosperity  and  Trade  of  the  Provlnqp, H3 

OHAPTKB    VII. 

Condition  of  the  Now  England  Indians— Conversion  of  some  of  them— their  Numbers  nnd  Strenslh ; 
the  Pokanokels;  Metacomet,  or  King  Philip— his  Grievances— Dissimuialion— Scheme  for  tlin  l)«- 
Btrucllon  of  the  English ;  Captain  Church— his  Character,  etc.— he  Disconwirta  on  Inlriguo  of  Pliili|j,  i  17 

OIUl'TKB    VIII. 

Commencement  of  Philip's  War;  Exploit  of  Church;  Rilreut  of  the  Indians;  Philip  Rouses  tliu 
Tribes;  Destruction  of  Towns,  etc;  the  Attack  on  lladiey— Repulsed  by  CoHo;  Great  I.rf)S8ea  of  tlie 
English ;  Springfleid  Burned, 150 

ClIAPTKB    IX. 

Philip's  War,  continued ;  Destruction  of  the  Nurrugansult  Fort— Terrible  Massacre ;  Mnlignunt  Exui- 
tolion  of  the  Early  Historians;  Indian  Successes;  Capture  and  Death  of  Canonchet— his  Heroism 
and  Magnanimity ;  Diplomacy  of  Church, LW 

CHAPTEB    X. 

Philip's  War,  continued ;  Successful  Campaign  of  Church;  Defeat  and  Capture  of  the  Savages ;  Pliil- 
Ip's  Despair— he  Retreats  to  Jlount  Hope— is  Defeated  and  Siain— Barbarous  Exposure  of  his  Ue- 
mains— bis  Character, I5j 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Philip's  War,  concluded;  Captnre  of  Annnwon  and  his  Wnrri<]rs,  by  Church  ;  Romantic  IncidenlJ; 
Summary  of  the  War;  Philip's  Son;  Barbarous  Policy  of  the  Victors;  Murderous  Advice;  !lio 
Character  of  Ihe  Puritans ;  Reflections, 15!* 

CHAPTRB    Xll. 

Renewed  Inferferenco  of  the  Crown  In  Massachnsclts;  Severance  of  Now  Hampshire— Atlcmpt  to 
Tyrininize  there— its  Failure;  Action  of  Mai-Michusclts;  Proceedings  ag.iinsl  its  Charter;  Vuin Op- 
position and  Remonstriincc ;  the  Charter  Annulled, Wl 


CONTENTS.  Q 

SETTLEMENT   OF   THE   CAHOLINAS. 
FillureloPI»nlColonie«lnlhe8outh;  KmlBrallonfrum  VIraliii.b.v.  ,ih..      ■,        ,        _ 

8,slemuf(,ov.„nni«i.t;  D.Konlonl of  IhottoWerij  liiiurrecUoiilu  North  Curolmtt-  8o.h„iT        ? 
b,  U.e  People;  Ch«,,«u.n  Fouudedi  U,n.tUuUo„  uf  I^cke  lt«li„,,Ill;^ 

VIKOIKU — CONTIH  UED. 

"fT"'"  W"'*""'"'*  In  VMnl,i  Re»lT«l  oMmorer.L  ,m|  Oppre«,lon;  fimnt  of  Virgin.,  ,„ 
Cup.,.per.nd  Arnn«.«n;  PopnI.r  Dl«„n.en„  Indl.n  W.r;  Murder  of  ,he  Chlefl.,  ,„^  ^^.^^ 
uuder  Uooon ;  Triuioub  of  the  People.. .  •■■•urrBcuon 

; 10« 

OHAPTXR    II. 

Tl,„  Popular  A,«,mbly;  Measure,  of  Reform;  Opp«,i,|„„  „„d  Treachery  of  Berkeley;  CMI  W.r- 
Tmunph  of  tho  lu.urgenUi ;  Jame.t„wn  Hurnod ;  Death  of  Bhco,,  hi,  Charncler ;  Run  of  the  Pop! 
«l»rCau«.;  Numerou.  Execution.;  I,e«th  of  Berkeley;  AdmluU.r.tlon  of  Culpepper"  etcl.T  170 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  DELAWARE. 
Bo  Fir,.  Dutch  Oniony  In  Delaware-It,  Destruction;  Swede,  and  Finn,  under  Mlnulf  Conaue,t 
„f  .he  «.ed„h  Setllement,  by  the  Du.ch,  under  8t„yve.«nt;  Delaware  under  the  Du     'oS- 

p:!lS  '  """"  """""""  """"'"""'  '•""*""""  "'  «"'--  -^om 

174 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF   NEW  JERSEY 

Conque.1  by  .he  Engll.h;  NIchol.,  Berkeley,  and  C«r.er,>t;  Emigration  from  New  England;  Sale  of 

«„.,  New  Jen«.y  to  he  Q,..kera ;  Fenwick,  Byl.lnge.  and  Penn ;  Quaker  Settlement,!  Remarkably 

' 170 

THE   SETTLEMENT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

OHAPTKR    I 

Wllll.mPenn-hl,  Youth-he  turn.  Q.inker-1,  Expelled  .rom  College  and  Home-Imnriwned  for 
hi,  Opinions-Severity  of  hi,  Father-Fresh  Impris.,nment-Exertlons  in  Behalf  of  hi.  Sect-ho 

Eng8i(ea  in  the  Settlement  of  New  JorBoy 

"  179 

OBAPTKB    II. 

Penn  Obtain,  from  Charles  11.  the  Grant  of  Pe«n,ylv«nla-hiH  Admirable  Proclamation  to  the  (Jet- 

llei»-ho  Repair,  U.  America-Gain,  Possession  of  Delaware-Honourable  Dealings  with  th-  •„- 

dlaiis-their  Attachment  to  him;  the  Great  Treaty, , 

181 

OHAPTKB    III. 

Liberal  Umslation  Of  Pennsylvania;  Penn  Found,  Philadelphia-its  Rapid  Increase;  Formation  of 
aCenrtitution;  Great  Emigration  from  Europe ;  Growth  of  tho  Province;  Penn  return,  to  England  • 

Ills  aubwquent  Career, s  "  "■ . 

'  1*1 

THE   NORTHERN   COLONIES — CONTINUED. 

CHAPTER    I. 

Sir  E,In,Hnd  Andro,  Commissioned  by  the  Duke  of  York-hl,  Attempt,  to  Extend  hi.  Authority  over 
Connecticut;  Thomas Dong.n ;  Union  of  theCoIonles  under  a  Royal  Governor;  Andr.«  appoin'^ 

Goernor-general;  Oppre,.loB  in  the  C..lonie,;  Pr.«eeding,  against  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Land 
mlT  I      '"  ^':"'«"'<=""  P™-*"""""  of  IheCharter;  theNorthern  Provinces  forced  to  Sub-' 
miMion;  Doings  in  New  England  upon  the  Occurrence  of  the  Revolution  of  1088, 187 

OBAPTEH    II. 

^Zlnt  '"T""''' "", '';:  K^"""'™  "f  '6^8 ;  Assumption  of  Authority  by  Jacob  Lelsler-Oppc^ 
1  „    ythoCmncd;  Indian  Incursh.ns ;  Arrival  of  Sioughter  a.  Governor;  Trial  and  ExecuUon 
1^      ^n  «^"'"'"  *^""""  f''"'«''"-'""  f'""«  Attempt  to  Enforce' Authority  in  Connect" 
cut,  Church  Difficulties;  Bellamont',  Peaceable  Administration;  Captain  Kidd,  the  Pirate,  ml 


L_ 


10 


OONTKNTB. 


New  C'hiU'lor  of  MHtnchiiwitli ;  Triad  ftir  Wllohcr*n  lit  l<ul<iin;  l''lnl  RxvoulMin;  Pitrrl*  mil  h\, 
Kiuullyi  Court  uf  Kxiinilim^iiii  ul  Hiilt-iii;  CitiUun  MHllmr;  Arrlviil  of  Phl|i|w;  Niinivniua  hxccu- 
Uuiw  i  CunruMlons ;  C'ruulUv*  liilllvtuU  )  Chtiigo  In  Pukllo  Upluluii, \f^^ 

CUKVTUH    17, 

I'linlrDvemy  Omcprnliin  Uiivi'imo ;  Hiii>|»>cl<'il  Ni-Km  Kovolt  In  N«m  York— Mfick-trlnl*  (if  llic  Accimnl 
—  Burlmniiiil'iinlahnii'iila;  Cuiiih'cIioiH— llioHnybriiDll  PluU'iiriii ;  MuiMiiichiiiiullB— lluiiiiiiKcii  D,  ,r- 
IkiUI— IHBleuilkw  bi'lwi'mi  tlui  4Ji)Vurm)ri  and  AwHiiiilillin ;  Niiw  lliun|)alilr(t— AUiitk  <iii  CiicIhoo-- 
>^U'rn  tiKllun  War;  llhinlo  lilynil— lU  Cumnii'rulitl  Pri)«|Mirlly ;  Nuw  Jurwij— n|iiH,iii|,)n  Ui  .»rbi- 
U-Jiy  Tuikllun— tkwkili  lminl||r»llun— l'rui|iurUy  uf  Die  CXilunjr— lU  l/iiluii  with  Nvw  Yurk, m; 

THK   SOUTIIEKN   CUI.ONIES— CONTINUED. 

ClIAPTKH    I. 

Charter  of  the  Colony  of  Ooorgln;  Flnl  Arrlviil  iir(;olonliili;  Bolllcmcnl  of  a«v»nMi«h ;  Indlnn  Ncko- 
Uiitlons ;  Mnry  MiuiKrovii ;  ('cMilon  ol  liiillnn  (Miilmi ;  (.'hiirnclcr  of  linnilKinnU  Ui  <!(>orgiii ',  Truffle 
lu  Nugruui  i'ruhlbltuil ;  Fn-Uurlca  Cuunduil ;  War  wtlh  H|mln, jn:i 

IlimPTKH    II. 

Ogli'thorpo'a  Expodltlon  oRnlnst  HI.  AuKiwllne— 8li'K«  of  Ihe  Town— F»lliire  nml  Rcliirii  nf  thn  Kx- 
jHillUon  ;  Hpioiliih  Invmlon  In  tW;  IMmcu  of  Frcilcrlcn;  HlrstHK«in  of  Oi(lclbor|Ki ;  Thomn 
Uoxiinworlb— hli  Inlriguvi  wllh  Iho  liidluni— LItlgullon  with  thu  Colony  J  Goorglii n  Uoyul  I'rco iiicn,  m 

nriAi'TRK  III 

South  Cnrollnii— Ui'llgloiii  Contn>v«nile«— Archdnl«'«  Ailinlnlslmtlon— Moom'i  lUpcdltlim  iiRHlnKt 
ril  AuKunlIni'— liivBHlon  of  Indian  Turrllory— FrBnch  Klrrt  on  Ihii  Cou«t— CuUiiro  of  Hlcu-liidisn 
I'onKplracy— Uiivoll  ngiilniit  th«  Proprl«tor»— tho  CliHrtcr  diTliirnd  Forfolt— Honlh  C'lirollMn  a  Knval 
Pro\liic«i;  North  CHrolina— Political  UUlurbancoa— »  Prosperous  Anarchy— Supnrnllon  frumSiniih 
Cnrollna, 801) 

OnAPTSIt  17. 

Virginia  under  Royal  Oovernora— S'tato  of  tho  Colony— Church  Oontrovor«lu» ;  Pcniuylvaiila  a  Roynl 
I'nivlncn— Ihe  Proprietor  Rulnslalud- Policy  of  P«nn  ;  Deliiwiiru— l)ualh  of  Punn— bis  riiicci'«(un; 
Miirylnnd— Us  Ciitbolic  Population— (iovornment  of  tht)  Asaociolion— Oppressivu  Hnitclmi'MUi-lho 
Proprlutora  Ruatored, • Hi 

INDIAN   WAKS,  ETC. 

OHAPTFU    I. 

Commencement  of  tho  Cherokee  War— Treaty  ut  Fort  flt.  ficorge— Plego  of  lliat  Fort— Murder  of 
Ikulngcs— Montgomery's  Campaign— Diwlructlon  of  the  Lower  Cherokee  Hollleinenls— Rclri'st- 
SlawHicre  of  lhi<  Currlson  of  Fort  l.oudon— the  Towns  of  the  Middle  Cherokees  destroyed  by  thu 
Force*  under  lirunt, lilj 

OUAPTEK    II 

Eimliah  Occupation  of  Ihe  Wealem  Trading  Poula;  Coiisplrncy  of  Iho  Norlh-westem  Tribes,  under 
ronlliic;  Deslruclion  of  the  F.iiglish  Forla;  Tiikiiig  of  Micbilliinaikinuc;  Hiene  id'  IMroll;  I.««b 
at  Uluody-ruu  ;  Close  of  the  War;  Maaaacro  uf  the  Cuneatuga  Indians, m 

EUROPEAN  COLONIAL   POLICT. 

Sjianlsh  and  Kngllsh  Restrictions  upon  Trade  and  Commerce  ;  Contraband  Traffic ;  the  "  Asslenlo" 
Tn'Uty  ;  Ihe  Slave-trade- ita  (Jenoral  Pivpularily-Causcs  which  lead  to  Iho  Abolition  of  Slavery-- 
Manner  of  Procuring  Negroes  from  Africa— ProBt  of  the  Trade— Numbers  brocgbt  over— English 
Law  upon  the  Subject  uf  Slavery  ;  liitruducllun  uf  While  Apprentices,  ur  "  Uudomptiuiiers," SS3 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 

OHAPTKK    I. 

General  Hlphts of  Colonloa;  EarlyCausesofComiilainl In  America;  Arbitrary Ciwtoni  I.nws;  ricCTl 
Condncl  of  English  Officlola ;  Acts  in  Reguliition  of  Ttiule ;  ExpNiises  of  the  Late  Wars  in  Ame^ 
iuu;  Uiti  " ^ugarsct ;"  Oppuaitlun  and  Rumunslrancu  In  the  Culonlea, ^ 


CONTKNTS. 


II 


<'lrAPT»H    II 

.< u.l.".«  1..  '•.«  Virgin,.  A^J!!!^y     lZ2\,Jrrr^^   ^^ 

Tu,.u.lu.    llclgimUu,,  ..r  lh«  Hum,.  oraoo«,      .  .!'.'.  ''"*""'""«"  '"  M-»chu«iu-Hu,,ular 


<'H  .PTIH 


UIIU 


|l.«l....  nf  Ih..  Klr-l  Am^rlci.,,  (;.mKr..M-M,Hl.r...„  To,,,,  .,f  u,  I'„h..,hIi..u.    .- 


OHAl'THH    IV 

Inlvrvaliif  Unlet;  Niiw  Tuxiw  nn  Iniiuirimi.,!,.  .  u 

.'•". ;  "I- ;  A...: J:r  r :.;  z2::t'\  ^r*"""' = ""'""""  •"  *•"-""- 

'■• '••""  ^•«'«' «— r  ...,.we«„  .h^T:::!;::;;;r.rl:rl:•."'.■"•'''•-'''■  "'""'''■«'' 

MICDMImiii    (if 


U34 


Ml«m„n^;.... ::..::;  ::„.■''''""''''  ""• ' "■ ""« '■"•■""-« .« '<„...„ ;  (=. 


OHAl-TliH  V 

P«rl>  Hplrll  In  Iho  Cdlonloi ;  Whin  tn<l  Tiiry  ;  ihi' 
uriiiinif  MiKKiiohimolU;  Dcitriictlon  nf 


UM 


IK'tCil.!..™  of  Nnrth  <^nrMl|„»;  II„tchln»,m,  (J„v. 


""Al'TKH    VI 

Odro,  Oov(.rric.r  cif  M«i»iiichii(iBlto-MIIIUry  Prfli.Np.il,>i>._u.     . 
.h,or„U,..rT.,wn.;C.,nv..,a V.Z^^XZ:^^^:^^^'^^^ 


npit- 
.  -d  Uee,.™..„„  A.,..pU.U ,  Vlo,«„.  Mi^^ .^  7p;::Z;''" 

11.     Ill       I.  ,  CHAPTRIl    VII 

Wnrilko  Prq.aralii.ii.  In  Maiwiichiitietti ;  Trooia  .li.».i„h    i  .     o 


'»n 


HlHd  »t  l^.xlnKl.,ni  I)l«««r.,u.  IU-tru«l„f  il,«  l)ritl»h 


K.  M.«t..n;  l'r.K:e..,ll„K.  l„  the  NBl«l,l«mfl„B 


C.,l„nli..;  IIO.I..II  lle,luKf.l  by  ih..  Pr»v l.l.-     ,;"'"""'"' 

«««!«.. or n,„gre..;  A,,H.a'u.»n. oronir.;  H^'^.^'JIi::;''' I.'''.'  "•'""-'  <•'" "'■•  «-"U 


utiruga, . 


>  of  frown  PoliH  and  TIcoiiUi 

OmdUlm,  or  the  llrltl.h  Army  In  Bo.U.n ;  ll.ul'  ltlZ"r  If  ill  •  w,.  n     . 
l,r..«l„„.IPr„c.M..llnK.i  Iho  Indian  Trlb,,;  J„„,,,h  Brant .M,;.       t"''"  "'  '""  ^''""'"  ^»- 


34U 


OMAi'lKU    IX. 


1253 


Vsclllallng  Policy  uf  Kiinluiid  ;  Priivlilnnii  h^  n  , 

^^M-n J..t  ,J,a.,a  ;•  Ce:.;;;'  «?::::  ^:S:  •-  "•«  war ,  Nav.,  a,„.r„. 

cupifd  by  JIuntgoinery  j  March  towar.l,  yu..b«c,  . .'. .   .   .!  "'"'"  "'"""'"' '  ""'  ^">'  ^ 


Ani,.l,r.  Expedition  agnln.l  Qiiebec-PaH^a^'.,  'nr'th^  wL„,  ,„     p  „ 

'"  '■'•"''  *'"'  "I-  «"' "Md-Arriv«l  at  tZ  Can  d  ."^  Z      7    '^''"'  "'  '•"'^'■l"n-»«r™tlo„ 

H.lKh„„f  Abrubum-U ,  with  M ^o.i^JrC-A  '  c^^^^^^^^^^  '~^'<"'^'>  «'  "»- 

Ba„',  K,no C„rp,-Am«ric»n  Kurco.  drawn  J,. . .  .       **"''""^""'""  <'f  Montg„m«ry-M,„. 

lir    1,1      «  OHArTBK    3tl. 

»v«rlilie  Preparallnna  In  Knirland  •  Rnrn..,,,  \, 

ch.,«r  „..i«,.„;  KvacuHtlon  of  the  r^^T^Jv^"''        '"  """"""  ''^•'="'""'""  "^  "- 
««..;  Attac.  upon  Char,a.on ;  He.,  J  i.r  ^l^^L^r^Ziri::  ^:;;-;"  ;  ^';.  «'  U,o 


of  Admiral  Howe, _  '  """  "'  '^""'"'  '"«•"<  i  Proclamation  of  Gcotral  an<I 


SCO 


!W3 


12 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTKR    XIV.  PMIE 

Oon(?rp«H  nt  niOlimore ;  Army  OrRnniziition ;  Powers  Cniirerred  upon  Waahliigton ;  PaaiKRe  of  llie 
Deluwa.e,  and  Kocovery  of  Treiium ;  Bailie  of  PriiiCBloii ;  End  of  the  Cainpainii ;  Marauding  I'ur- 
tiea ;  NfKolialioii  wilh  European  Powers ;  Foreign  Offlcors  ill  the  American  Service, 274 

CHAPTER    XV, 

Expeditions  against  Peekskill  and  Danbury ;  British  Plan  of  Campaign ;  Howe's  Dopiirlure  from  Nuw 
York;  Uuigoyne'a  Army— hiaPiocIannilion;  Siege  of  Ticonduroga;  Uetreatof  St.  Ulair;  Burgoyne 
on  the  Hudson  ;  Siege  of  Fort  Schuyler ;  Battle  of  Bciniilimlon ;  Indian  Warfare, 278 

CH\PTKR    XVI. 

Buttles  at  Behmtis'  Heights ;  Burgoyne's  Retreat  to  Saratoga— his  Surrender ;  Detention  of  Priaoners ; 
Ex|iedition  from  Now  Yuik  up  tlio  Hudson;  Howe's  March  <ipon  Philadelphia;  Battle  at  Brandy- 
wine  llreek;  Br'lish  Occnpalion  of  Philadelphia;  Battle  of  Germantown;  Reduction  of  Forts  Mif- 
flin and  Meicer;  Wlnter-qiiarttrs  at  Valley  Forgo, 261 

CHAPTFK    XVII. 

Difflcullies  of  Congress ;  Articles  of  Ccmfederation ;  Recommendations  to  the  Slates ;  Inlriguea  ngninat 
Washinuton;  Treaties  with  France;  Biilish  Commissioners  in  America;  Evacuation  of  Philadel- 
phia; Battle  of  Monmouth;  Arrival  of  a  French  Fleet;  Attempt  on  Newport;  Wintei-quarlers; 
Marauding  Expeditions ;  Destruction  of  Wyoming, k 2S5 

CHAPTRK    XVIII. 

Invasion  of  (Jeorgia ;  Occnpntion  of  Savannah  ;  British  Division  under  Provost;  Mncoln  in  Command 
at  the  South;  Defeat  of  Ashe  at  Briar  Creek ;  Attack  on  Charleston;  Sullivan's  Campaign  ag.iinat 
the  Iriiquoia;  Naval  Openitioiis  of  France  and  England  ;  Atteinptat  a  Recovery  of  Savannah;  Fur- 
ther Naval  Proaedings— PaulJones;  Condition  of  the  Americun  Army, ifflo 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

Siege  of  Charleston— Smrender  of  the  City;  South  Carolina  Occupied  by  the  British  ;  Tarleton's  I,o- 
gion- his  Vicloiy  at  V.ixhaws;  C(jrnwallis  in  C<mimand;  Defeat  of  the  Americans  at  Cninden; 
Giu'rilla  Operations  of  Sumpter  and  Marion;  Invasion  of  North  Carolina;  Ferguson's  Defeat  at 
King's  Mountain, -'Jl 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Northern  Operations ;  Springfield  Burned ;  Arrival  of  the  French  Fleet  and  Forces— Blockade  at  New- 
port ;  TicBSon  of  Arnold ;  Triai  and  Execution  of  Major  Andre ;  Causes  of  Arnold's  Defection ;  In- 
dian Ravagea— Invasion  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  by  Johnson  and  Brant, 293 

CHAPTKR   XXI. 

Revolt  of  the  Pennsylvania  Troops ;  Arnold's  F.xpedition  into  Virginia;  Greene  In  Command  of  Hie 
Siuilliern  Army  ;  Morgan's  Detuchnienr— Battle  of  Cowpens— Pursuit  of  Morgan  by  Cornwallis— 
Passage  of  the  Calawbu— Retreat  int  >  Virginia— Battle  of  fiuilford  Court-house;  Greene's  March 
into  Smith  Carolina ;  Cornwallis  in  Virginia ;  Battle  at  Hobkirk's  Hill ;  Seizure  of  British  Forts  by 
Slurion  and  Lee, 301 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

War  between  England  and  Holland;  Seizure  and  Plunder  of  St.  Eiistatins;  the  Armed  Neutrality; 
Recovery  of  West  Florida  by  Spain  ;  Continental  Currency  ;  Plan  lor  the  Recovery  of  New  Yeik ; 
Virginia  Ravaged  by  Phillips  and  Cornwnllia ;  Encampments  at  York.  ,wn  and  Glouce.Mer  Point; 
Wushiiigton's  Mareh  Smithwairt  ;  Attack  on  New  London  and  Groton  ;  Campaign  in  South  Caru- 
linu ;  Battle  near  l^Uiw  Springs, 305 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

French  Fleet  in  the  Chesapeake;  Siege  of  Yorktown ;  Surrender  of  C<irnwaIIis;  Winlei-qiinrlera; 
Proceedings  in  the  English  Parliament;  Negotialinns  for  Pence;  Terms  of  Trealy;  Ceasiilien  of 
Hostililies;  Disaffection  in  the  Ckintiiiental  Army;  Evacuation  of  New  York;  Position  of  the 
United  Stales, ™ 

THE   UNITED   STATES. 

CHAPTER    I. 

Position  of  the  Union  at  the  Conclusion  of  Peace;  ExiatlngDifflcultieswitli  Great  Britain;  WeakneM 
of  Congress;  Local  Disturbances -Shay's  Rebellion;  Convi^nlion  for  Enlarging  Congressional  Pow- 
ers-Opposing Interests  of  the  Slates;  the  Present  Conslilution— Federal  Legislalnre— Powers  of 
Congress— Restrictions— Lliiiit  of  State  Powers— Ihe  Executive— the  Judiciary— Mutual  (iuaraiilees 
— Amiimlmi  itt<, ..,1,  •113 


I 


CONTENTS.  23 

CHAPl'KR    II. 

Knlificutlon  of  the  Conelltntlon  by  ti.e  Slates;  Wushlniflon  Eleole.1  President;  the  First  ConKross-^'"" 
I.,uvi»iu.,8  for  Kevenue-ForniQti.m  of  n  fubiiHit-Power  of  Kemov.il  from  Office;  VVbSlii.mlou's 
Tour  Ihrougl,  New  Kn«i„n<l ;  y«c<..,-.l  !^e«i„n  of  U„„K.c»8-Delnitc    rexpectliiK  the  Public  U.l.l- 

ForeiKu  Liabililies-Public  C.irlillcMtcs-A.a ptioii  of  Slate  Debls-tho  Public  Debt  Fundi-d- 

Miscullaiieuua  Knuctineuts ;  Coualitutiou  Kiiii(l.,d  Ijy  Uhodu  Island, 3,9 

C:iJ  API  I;,K    111 

India..  Negoliations-the  Creeks-lho  Nortti-wesfir..  Tribes ;  Marmur's  Unsuccessful  Campaign  ■  Third 
£i«8io.,  of  UoiiKiess-tbe  Excise  Law-u  N.itiooul  ll,n.k  ;  rieltleinent  of  Kentucky-its  Adn'.isso,. 
to  Ihe  i;„.on  ;  Ad.nia»io..  of  Ver.no.it ;  .Si,,,  of  the  fVUeinl  Uupitol ;  ihe  North-wester..  I„dia.,9-Sl 
Clair's  Exped.tion-his  Disastro.is  Defeat ;  Political  Parties ;  the  Census, .'3^3 

CHAPTKK    IV. 

Wusiiii.mon's  Second  Term-his  Disi.iclination  to  Offlee;  the  French  Revolution-its  Pulllicnl  Influ- 
ence in  the  United  Stales;  Arrival  of  (iei.et,  us  Minister  of  the  French  Repubiic-his  Pr.iceedi.ics 
at  Churleslon  ;  Neutral  Position  of  the  Uniud  Slates;  Ooinn.eicial  Rest.iclious  by  F,a..ce  ui.d  Eok- 
i„ii,l;  lini..c88.nent  of  American  Seamen;  Uetiiement  (,f  Jefllrson;  Aigerine  Dep.edalion8, 3s;7 

CHAPTER   V. 

American  Politics;  Debate  in  Connress  upon  ForeiRn  Relations;  Further  AgKresaions  of  EnKland  • 
C„i..i.iisa.on  01  Jay  us  A.nbassador  Exlruo.di.iary  to  Ureal  llritain;  Relief  of  Imn.iKrunu,  Iroin  St' 
Demh.Ko;  the  Neutruiity  Laws;  Resistance  to  the  Excise-Rebellion  in  VVe8te.n  Penusylvanin- 
iis  t'oicible  Suppression— Opinions  of  the  Republica.i  Party, .3, 

Ci-I.iPTJtR  VI. 

General  Wayne's  Campaign  against  the  No.lh-we«tern  Indians;  Defeat  of  Ihe  Confedcnte  Tribes  at 
IheMian.i  Rajmls;  Nuturaiizution  Laws;  the  Democratic  Clubs;   Hamilton's  Uesisnution ■   the 
,      Itiihah  Tiuuiy-its  Rutillcation-Poi.ular  Indignation ;  Randolph's  Resignotion, '.,,,,  335 

*  CHAPTER    VII. 

hidinn  Tre..ly  at  Fort  Greenville ;  Treaties  with  Algiers  and  Spuin-the  Mississippi  Opened  to  Ame.- 
anlVade;  Debate  in  Cc.gress  uj,on  Jay's  llritiah  Tiealy ;  TiMinesseo  A.l.nilted  i.ito  the  Union- 
rreiich  l'M.cee<linK9  in  Respect  to  the  Treaty  ;  A.nerican  Ministers  to  Fra.ico;  Washington's  Rc^ 
tirenient  fi-om  Olllce-Siandurs  upon  his  Chuiacter ;  John  Adams  Elected  President, 3:19 

OHAPTKR   VIII. 

Treaimenl  of  United  Slates'  Ambassadors  In  Fra.ice;  Hostile  Preparations  in  America  •  New  Em 
l„...«-lielu*.;d  or  the  Direclo,y  to  Receive  tin!  Americin  Ministeis;  Negotiatio..s  with  Taileyra.nl  • 
Kxlraviigant  Demands  and  Injurious  Decrees  of  the  Directory;  Return  of  the  Ambassadors-  Action 
ot  Uoi.giess-MiiiUiiy  I'rep.iralions-Alion  and  Sedition  Laws-Land-tax,  etc ' 341 

CHAPTKH    IS. 

P;,ciHc  Movements  in  France ;  Mission  of  Murray ;  Naval  Engasemenis ;  Death  of  Washington  •  Na- 
|.ole„.,  r„»l  Consul;  T.ealy  with  F,-a„ce;  Fi,st  Session  of  C,n,g.-ess  at  WasbiniMon;  PresideM.tial 
Ivl..cl,..n-Jeirerso„  Piesident,  a.,d  Hmr  Viee-p.e»ide..t;  Parly  Uen.oval  from  Otilce;  Econon.icai 
Relorms ;  Ohio  Admitted  into  the  Union ;  Transfer  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  Stales, 345 

CHAPTER    S. 

Americ,,.,  Flcvt  in  the  Me.literranean ;  Expe.liiion  of  Eaton  and  Hamet  tigainst  Tripoli ;  Treaty  con- 
dude.1 ;  Jelferson's  lUelection ;  llurr's  Duel  with  Hamiiton-his  Western  Enterpr!.e-his  Trial!! . .  349 

CM  \rTKR    XI. 

K...:i.h  Aggressions;  Faiime  of  Negotiation:  Allaek  on  the  Frigate  Chesapeake ;  En.bareo-  Non- 
'^n^^Tt^lJc  '''"'"  V'':T:'''''''''   •'"'"   «'"»l"l|'";»'est  Florida,  Co,.cessi;ns  of 

v:::;\.::::::i:::7:^-'''^^^^^^^^^^  --='^"- 

3.i;! 

CUAPTUR    XII. 

lli..H  at  llailimo,e ;  H,.ll's  Invasion  of  Canada ;  Repeal  of  the  Orders  in  Council-Impressmem  ;  Na- 

:;;v:!:r:i:^^::::L::r:;i;i:::'::::r:!:::r:-:!:!^!'.^ 

CHAPTEK    Xiri 

't"";^7V"^7  ""  '"""'  T ''  ""'■'""'■'  '^""'""""  ^"■"l"''""  '  ""■  N'"''-  '^-n'i-  i 

11  i Lew  ,    r"^  ;  rr  •  ^'■«'"""'""''  '"'■ ''™'-"  =  ■"■-•.>'«  mvaslon  oft,-, da-l.a.Ue 

-De      ,  I  :  ,    P  'h,"";'":;  :"  '""  '■•"-"•™'"-""""-  "f  Hiadensbu,gh-S..,zure  of  Washimiton 
Desn  i.enon  el  Public  Bulldings-AttBck  on  iSaltimoru, 3IW 


14 


CONTENTS. 


'iUfSl 


OHAPTHB    XIV 


tAOB 


OperatiiinB  on  the  Coast  of  Maine ;  Attack  on  Plattubuigh— Battle  of  Lake  Champlain  ;  Naval  Af- 
faire—LuHtte;  Nogolialion  at  Ghent;  tlie  Hartford  Convention  ;  Treaty  of  Peace ;  Jackson's  Do- 
fence  of  New  Orleans— Utttllo  of  January  8 ;  Naval  Engaxemenls, 375 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Wiirwilh  AlRierg;  Tariff -National  Bank;  Monroe,  President;  Jackson's  Seminole  Campiiiffn  ; 
C'esBion  of  I'ioridu  by  Spaiii ;  Admission  of  Missouri— the  Compromise  ;  Monroe's  Second  leiin  ; 
Administration  of  John  Qnincy  Adams;  Election  of  Andrew  Jackson  ;  the  Tariff;  Nu:iiflculiuii 
in  South  Carolina ;  the  United  States' Bank ;   Indian  Removals ;  Black  Hawk;  the  Cherokies,..  m 

OHAPTKK    XVI. 

The  Seminole  War ;  Early  History  of  the  Florida  Indians;  War  of  I8I8;  Indian  Treaty  of  18';3- 
of  1S32;  Refusal  of  the  Semlnoles  to  Remove;  Dealruction  of  Dude's  Dutuchinent ;  Miliinry 
Operations  of  Generals  Scott  and  Jessup;  Unsatisfactory  Results  of  Negotiation;  Expeditious  <>r 
Culonelg  Taylor  and  Harney  ;  Gradual  Cessation  of  Hostilities ;  Recent  Oifflculties, ;|.jg 

OHAPTKtt    XVII. 

Adminialrntion  of  Van  Buren— Financial  Pressure— the  Snb-troasnry- Canadian  Revolt;  Ilaiiisun 
and  Tyler— Bankrupt  Law— Preemption- the  Veto  Power— North-east  Boundary— Tariff;  Janu's 
K.  Polk— AdmlBsion  of  Texas— Mexican  War— Tariff  of  1846;  Taylor  and  Fillmore— Califurnia 
Admitted— the  Compromise ;  Franklin  Pierce  President— Nebraska, 31)5 

THE   SANDWICH  ISLANDS. 
History  of, WJ 


Uf  '1" 


PAOC 

iplain  ;  Naval  At'-  I 
ic» ;  Jackson's  t)v  I 
376  ' 

i\\m\e  Cftinpaiifn  ;  | 

oe'a  bccoiid  Term  ;  I 

Wiff;  Nulliflealioii  ■ 

;  tlieClierokws...  3i<l  ' 

n  Treaty  of  18';3_  | 

uchnieiit;   Military  ' 

II ;  Expvilitidiia  i>r  ' 

Hies, ayg 

Revolt ;  Ilnrrisnn  ; 
iiry— Tariff;  Janica  ! 
illmoro— Cullfuniia 
395  • 

I 
I 
I 

m 


^H^H 

I^H 

1 

H^j 

i. 

1 

9 

3 

■< 

Bueii(»s  Ayres, 


Mexico. 


Bolivia. 


.  AMERICAN   CflMNODime. 


New  Givnatla. 


Atiiericiiti  Jack 


exico. 


United  States 


M|||Bj|aMliWM 

■H 


PART  VI, 


THE  EIGLISH  II  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER   L 

SEBASTIAN  CABOT:   HIS   YOITTH:   HIS   FIRST  VOYAGE    AND   DISCOY 
EI^Y  OP  NORTH   AMERICA.-HIS  SECOND  70YAGE    AND   PnTiO 
ATTEMPT  AT   COLONIZATION.-OBSCURE  INTER    ALinT/s 
LIPE.-HE  SERVES  IN  SPAIN.-HIS  EXPEDITION  UNDER 

HENRY  VIII.  — APPOINTED  GRAND  PILOT  OF  SPAIN  — 
HIS  EXPEDITION  TO  SOUTH  AMERICA.-HIS  RETURN 

TO  ENGLAND.  SERVICES,  OLD  AGE,  AND  DEATH. 

Englanb,  the  first   to  discover  the  American   continent    was, 
trangely  enough  the  last  to  plant  her  colonies  on  its  shores     Be 

S  eVd^      '  'f ""'  f"''  ''  ^^^^^  ^^*-P"-  -d  those     ie  and 

feeble  endeavours  destined  to  eventuate  in  such  mighty  results  there 

w^  destmed  to  intervene  the  barren  interregnum  of  nearly  a  centurv 

torp.dity  and  ignorance,  of  imprudence  and  disaster.     The  sc  ntv 

sources  of  her  marine,  and  the  lives  of  her  most  enterprisinTdit 

verers,  for  ages  were  lavished  in  futile  efforts  to  reacK  shores 

li  IIIT7  .r  '^'  r'  ^-  ^^■■'^'  -  -  y^'  more  hVpI 
aSL  o  .   ^    .        '*  ^''''^''    ^^''  ^"«fl^  d*^^-ibing  the 
Cis     tZ         ";"'"'^^  achievement,  and  the  unimportant 

P^,  A  ith  little  lutcrruption,  to  the  tardy  and  unprosperous  beginning 


hit 


18 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  IIISTOBY. 


of  an  empire,  whose  rise  and  progress  are  utterly  without  a  parallel 
in  the  history  of  the  world. 

That  achievement,  indeed,  as  in  the  more  remarkable  instance  of 
Columbus,  and  in  that  of  Magellan,  of  Vespucius,  of  Verrazano,  and 
of  Hudson,  was  mainly  due  to  the  genius  and  enterprise  of  one  who, 
if  not  of  foreign  birth,  was  of  foreign  origin  and  education,  seeking, 
in  a  strange  land,  the  means  of  displaying  his  genius  and  courage 
in  effecting  grand  discoveries,  Sebastian  Cabot,  the  sou  of  an  emi- 
nent Venetian  merchant,  was  born  at  Bristol  in  England,  about  the 
year  1477.  Being  removed  to  Venice  at  the  early  age  of  four,  he 
there  received,  for  the  age,  an  excellent  education,  and  became  espe- 
cially imbued  with  the  taste  for  maritime  enterprise,  Keturnuig  to 
England  yet  a  youth,  his  ambition,  like  that  of  others  of  his  family, 
was  strongly  kindled  by  tidings  of  the  grand  discovery  of  Columbus, 
then  the  chief  event  of  the  day,  "By  this  fame  and  report,"  he 
says,  "  there  increased  in  my  heart  a  great  flame  of  desire  to  attempt 
some  notable  thing," 

A  n  ambition  so  laudable  has  seldom  been  gratified  at  such  an  early 
age;  and  a  more  "notable  thing"  than  the  young  adventurer  proba- 
bly dreamed  of,  was  destined,  while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  to  immortalize 
his  name,  Henry  VII,,  whose  far-sighted  policy  had  looked  with 
immediate  favour  on  the  scheme  of  Columbus,  and  who  had  narrowly 
missed  the  first  claim  to  A.merica,  in  March,  1496,  at  the  instance  of 
John  Cabot,  granted  to  him  and  his  three  sons— Lewis,  Sebastian,  and 
Sancius— a  patent  "to  sail  to  all  parts,  country s,  and  seas,  of  the 
East,  of  the  West,  and  of  the  North,  to  seek  and  find  out  whatsoever 
isles,  countries,  regions,  or  provinces  of  the  heathen  and  infidels, 
whatsoever  they  may  be,  and  in  what  part  of  the  world  soever  they 
be,  which  before  this  time  have  been  unknown  to  all  Christians." 
The  main  object  of  this  expedition  was  the  enterprising  attempt,  so 
often  since  repeated,  first  from  ignorance  of  climate  and  geography, 
and  latterly  from  sheer  English  hardihood  and  perseverance,  to  find 
a  North-west  passage  to  the  shores  of  India. 

Sebastian,  though  as  yet  only  a  youth  of  nineteen,  was  entrusted 
with  the  command  of  the  expedition,  which  consisted  of  five  ships, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1497,  accompanied  by  his  father,  took  bia 
departure  from  the  port  of  Bristol,  After  stopping  at  Iceland,  they 
held  on  to  the  westward,  and  on  the  24th  of  June,  beheld  the  land 
stretching  before  them,  being  portions  of  the  coasts  of  Labrador  and 
Newfoundland.     Little  exultation  seems  to  have  been  awakened  by 


_J 


THE   ENGLISH  IN    AMERICA.  jg 

thi8  momentous  discovery  of  a  continent.     "After  certayne  dayes  » 
says  Sebastian,  "I  found  that  the  land  ranne  toward  the  North 
vvliich  was  to  mee  a  great  displeasure,         *        *        not  thinking 
to  find  any  other  land  than  Cathay  "  (China).     He  entered  however 
it  would  seem,  one  of  the  channels  which  lead  into  Hudson's  Bay 
and  thought  himself  (like  Hudson,  a  century  later)  fairly  in  the 
desired  track ;  but  after  keeping  westward  for  several  days,  the  crews 
discouraged  by  the  length  of  the  voyage  and  the  failure  of  provi- 
sion, insisted  on  return.     Compelled  to  yield,  he  put  about,  and  after 
coasting  along  shore  for  some  way  to  the  southward,  made  his  way 
to  England.    Not  long  afterwards,  John  Cabot  expired. 

In  the  spring  of  1498,  Sebastian,  anxious  to  found  a  colony,  took 
with  him  three  hundred  men,  and  again  set  sail  for  the  region  he  had 
discovered.  These  unfortunate  people  he  landed  on  the  bleak  and 
inhospitable  coast  of  Labrador,  that  they  might  form  a  settlement 
there,  and  then  with  the  squadron  renewed  his  search  for  the  North- 
west Passage.  The  particulars  of  this  unsuccessful  attempt  are  not 
recorded;  but  on  his  return  to  the  station,  he  found  that  the  settlers 
had  suffered  miserably  from  cold  and  exposure,  though,  in  that  high 
northern  latitude,  "the  dayes  were  very  longe,  and  in  a  manner 
without  nyght."  A  number  had  already  perished,  and  the  rest, 
refusing  to  remain  any  longer  in  these  inclement  regions,  were  taken 
on  board,  and  carried  back  to  England.  In  the  return  voyage,  h? 
coasted  along  the  Atlantic  sea-board  of  North  America  as  far  as 
Florida. 

From  this  time  until  the  year  1512,  very  little  is  known  of  the 
career  of  Cabot;  though,  it  is  said,  deprived  of  the  aid  of  the  crown, 
he  fitted  out  vessels  at  his  own  charges,  and  made  "great  discoveries," 
in  a  more  southerly  direction.     In  that  year  we  find  him  employed 
by  Ferdinand  of  Spain,  and,  not  long  after,  a  member  of  the  Council 
of  the  Indies.     He  was  also  entrusted  with  the  command  of  a  fresh 
expedition  to  seek  the  Westerly  Passage;  but  this  project  failincr 
from  the  death  of  his  patron,  in  1516,  he  returned  to  England,  where 
he  was  received  with  favour  by  Henry  VIII.     From  that  country 
he  made  a  fresh  expedition  to  the  north-west,  attaining  the  sixty- 
Beventh  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  making  fresh  surveys  in  Hud- 
son's Bay;  but  from  the  severity  of  the  season,  the  mutinous  dispo- 
sition of  his  crews,  and  the  timidity  of  Sir  Thomas  Pert,  who  com- 
manded under  him,  ("whose  faint  heart  was  the  cause  that  the  voyage 
took  none  effect,")  was  compelled  to  return  to  England,  his  purpose 


I: 


20 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


unaccomplished.    In  1518,  he  was  recalled  to  Spain  by  Charles  V. 
then  on  the  throne  of  that  country,  and  received  the  honourable  and 
responsible  appointment  of  Chief  Pilot. 

In  April  of  1526,  he  set  forth,  with  three  ships,  on  a  voyage  to 
the  Pacific  by  the  strait  of  Magellan;  but,  through  mutiny  and  ship, 
wreck,  his  project  was  disconcerted,  and  he  devoted  himself  to  inland 
exploration.  He  passed  up  the  La  Plata  and  the  Paraguay,  and 
during  an  absence  of  five  years,  added  materially  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  geography  of  those  regions,  as  well  as  of  their  natural  wealth 
and  resources.  In  1581,  he  returned  to  Spain,  and  resumed  his 
office  of  Chief  Pilot,  being  then  fifty-three  years  of  age.  Despite  his 
many  misfortunes,  his  reputation  as  a  discoverer  and  navigator  was 
great.  "He  is  so  valiant  a  man,"  says  a  contemporary,  "and  so  well 
practiced  in  all  things  pertaining  to  navigations  and  the  science  of 
cosmographic,  that  at  this  present  he  hath  not  his  like  in  all  Spaine 
insomuch  that  for  his  vertues  he  is  preferred  above  all  other  Pilots 
that  saile  to  the  West  Indies,  who  may  not  passe  thither  without  his 
license,  and  is  therefore  called  Pilote  Maggioro,  (that  is,  Grand  Pilot.)" 
"I  found  him,"  says  another,  "a  very  gentle  and  courteous  person, 
who  entertained  mee  friendly,  and  showed  mee  many  things,  and 
among  other  a  large  mappe  of  the  world  " — at  that  time,  doubtless, 
a  great  curiosity,  and  which  certainly  would  be  none  the  less  such 
now.  The  learned  and  enterprising  seem  to  have  found  delight  in 
his  society,  and  as,  with  increasing  age,  he  gradually  relinquished 
his  more  active  occupations,  a  serene  tranquillity,  relieved  from  mo- 
notony by  the  interest  of  his  office,  rewarded  the  more  arduous 
achievements  of  his  youth  and  manhood.  "After  this,"  he  writes, 
"I  made  many  other  voyages,  which  I  now  pretermit,  and  waxing 
olde,  I  give  myself  to  rest  from  such  travels,  because  there  are  now 
many  young  and  lustie  pilots  and  mariners  of  good  experience,  by 
whose  forwardness  I  do  rtjoyce  in  the  fruit  of  my  labors  and  rest  in 
the  charge  of  this  office  as  you  see." 

Aged  as  the  discoverer  was  when  he  wrote  this  letter,  his  work 
was  far  from  finished;  the  promotion  of  English  enterprise  and  tho 
building  up  of  a  marine  mightier  than  the  world  has  ever  seen,  being 
reserved  as  the  crowning  laurel  of  his  long  and  useful  life.  In  1548, 
being  then  seventy  years  old,  he  revisited  his  native  country,  where 
he  met  with  much  favour  from  the  young  king,  Edward  VI.  It  has 
been  said  that  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Grand  Pilot  of  Eng- 
land— an  office  which,  in  the  unprosperous  condition  of  foreign 


THE  ENGLISH  IN   AMEKIOA.  gl 

commerco,  mr^t,  at  this  time,  have  been  almost  a  sinecure.  He  cer- 
tainly received  a  Imndsome  pension.  His  reputation  for  maritime 
skill,  (as  well  perhaps  as  the  jealousy  of  the  Spanish  court,  i 
evinced  m  a  formal  demand  made  by  Charles  V.,  that  "Sebas  i.n 
Cabote  Grand  Pilot  of  the  Emperor's  Indies,  then  iL  England,  ^ 
be  sent  over  to  Spain,  as  a  very  necessaiy  man  for  the  E^^^' 
whose  servant  he  was  and  had  a  pension  of  him."  This  peremptory 
recall  was,  however,  disregarded.  ^     -^ 

nis  arrival  in  London  gave  a  fresh  stimulus  to  the  almost  decayed 
spirit  of  English  enterprise.    The  chief  men  of  that  port  we  are 
to  d  began ''first  of  all  to  deal  and  consult  diligently"  Z'ZIZ 
pilot;  and  by  his  advice  three  vessels  were  fitted  out  for  an  exped  - 
ion  to  the  north-east.     This  little  squadron,  which  sailed  in  May 
15  3,  under  the  command  of  Sir  Hugh  WiUoughby,  wa.  regS 
wi  h  a  curiosity  which  indicates  the  infancy  of  maritime  entfrprise 
m  the  nation  whose  exploits  in  that  direction  have  since  been  utfe  ly 
unapproachable  by  those  of  any  other.     As  it  floated  down  the 
Thames  says  old  Hakluyt,  "being  come  neere  to  Greenwich  (where 
the  court  then  lay)  presently  on  the  news  thereof,  the  courtier  ca    o 
ninning  out  and  the  common  people  flockt  togelher,  standinrverv 
lick  upon  the  shoare;  the  privie  counsell,  they  look  out  at  the  win 
dows  of  the  court,  and  the  rest  ranne  up  to  the  toppes  of  the  tower  " 
This  expedition  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  Sir  Hugh  and  most 
0  his  people  who  perished  on  the  dreary  coastof  Lapland;  butTe 
of  the  vessels,  commanded  by  Riehard  Chancellor;  sueceededL 
pushing  her  way  far  eastward  through  the  Arctic  seas,  and  aid  the 

Fnl«l       .  '  '^"^*'^'"«  °^d  age,  still  the  active  patron  of 

Engl  sh  enterprise  and  commerce;  which,  by  his  vigorous  and  intcl 
hgeut  direc  ion,  was  gradually  placed  on  a  substanlal  andlucra  tvo      i 
basis.    A  pleasant  description  of  his  demeanour  is  given  by  o 'e  of      ' 
the  company  of  a  small  vessel,  which,  with  his  friends  (when  eHity 
years  old)  he  visited  at  Gravesend.     " They  went  on  shore  "I'ysZ 
narrator,    giving  to  our  mariners  right  liberal  rewards;  ani  t  e^d 

of  the  SeaMnft,  our  pinesse.     And  then  at  the  signe  of  the 

that  were  m  the  company  great  cheere;  and  so  very  joy  that  he  had 
to  see  the  towardness  of  our  intended  discovery,  he'enfer^  1,2  the 


22 


TUE   PBOPLE'8   BOOK  OF  IIIHTOKY. 


dance  himselfe,  among  the  rest  of  the  young  and  lusty  company 
which  being  ended,  hee  and  his  friends  departed,  most  yently  com- 
mending  ua  to  the  (jovernancc  of  Almvjhty  God."  The  most  elaborate 
description  could  hardly  present  a  more  agreeable  picture  of  halo 
cheerful,  and  benevolent  old  age,  than  is  suggested  by  this  little 
incident,  thus  casually  recorded. 

After  the  accession  of  Mary,  this  aged  and  useful  servant  of  tho 
crown  spent  tho  brief  remainder  of  his  days  in  neglect  and  obscurity. 
It  mattered  little  to  him,  however,  for  his  work  was  done.  "On  his 
death- bed,  says  an  eye-witness,  'he  spake  llightily '  of  a  certain  divino 
revelation  (which  he  might  disclose  to  no  man)  for  the  infallible 
ascertainment  of  the  longitude.  With  his  last  thoughta  thus  pmused 
by  visions  so  suited  to  his  mind  and  his  past  life,  tho  Discoverer  of 
North  America  died  calmly — it  is  supposed  in  the  city  of  London- 
but  the  date  of  his  death,  and  the  place  where  hia  remains  are  laid 
have  long  been  lost  even  to  tradition." 


THE    "DOMINUS    VOBISCUM:"    EAILUKE    AND    MISFORTUNE.— 
IMPROVEMENT    OP    THE    ENGLISH    MARINE. — MARTIN  FRO- 
BISHER:  HIS  VOYAGE  IN  SEARCH  OP  A  NORTH-WEST  PASSAGE 
—  DIMINUTIVE   EOUIPMENTS   OP  THE    EARLY    DISCOV- 
ERERS.—  SUPPOSED     DISCOVERY     OF     GOLD    ORE. — 
SECOND   EXPEDITION   OF   FR0RI8HEB. — 8URYET8. 
— CONTEST  WITH  THE  ESQUIMAUX.  —  HIS  THIRD 
EXPEDITION,  —  ITS   FAILURE. 

The  voyage  of  Cabot,  under  Henry  VIIL,  in  1517,  in  search  of  a 
North-west  Passage,  is  the  only  one  mr  l  by  the  English,  in  that 
direction,  for  ten  y^;;irs,  of  which  any  record  li.'if  survived.  Ti  V'^7, 
two  ships,  the  ^^ Dominus  Vbhiscum"  ('  '  '  id  ,  u  with  you")  and 
another  were  dispatched  by  the  same  sovereign  to  the  northern 
coasts  of  America.  "Divers  cunning  men,"  one  being  a  canon  of 
St.  Paul's,  went'  on  this  expedition,  which,  however,  one  of  the 
vessels  being  '  eked,  resulted  in  nothing  of  importance.  The  fact, 
indeed,  that  a      Iter,  describing  the  voyage,  was  forwarded  home 


THK  JCNGLI8U  IN   AMEKICA. 


28 


fron.  the  httrbour  of  St.  John's,  Newfoun.lla.ul,  would  seom  to  indi 
catc  t  ut  «orne  u.tercourHe  already  existed  with  the  JparH^^^^^^^^^^ 
by  iislung  vcH«elH  wh..  h,  in  emulation  of  the  early  Bretons  mav 
have  reaorted  thither.  ^  ^reions,  may 

Nine  years  afterwards,  (1536,)  another  voyage  woa  made  in  fl.« 
«arno  d.root.on  by  a  company  of  adventurers^  many  of  whrvve'r 
young  lawyers  from  t  e  Inns  of  Court,  and  gentlemen  o^  Zd 
faa^l,^     Ihoy  were  reduced  to  a  wretched  condition,  and  even  t 
18  said,  resorted  to  cannibalism,  devouring  one  another     at   "^ 
obtaining  by  stratagem,  at  Newfoundland,  a  l^rench    hi, '  wdl  ft' 
nishe    with  sur.plies,  they  made  their  way'home  ^hith  r  thiy  were 
Boon  followed  (in  the  ship  they  had  left)  by  the  French  crew  Jam! 
orou.  for  redress.       t  would  ap,>ear,  from  laws  passed  not  IoIL  a^r 
for  the  protection  of  the  fisheries  at  Newfoundlan.l  th.f  Iv     ?       I 
of  national  industry  had  already  made  a^fdr    ^nntV  a^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

The  fate  of  Willoughby,  in  seeking  a  north-east  passage  in  1553 
an    the  success  of  his  officer.  Chancellor,  in  discoverinfasea-  oute 
to  Kussia  and  opening  a  lucrative  commerce  with  that  emp  re  have 
area  y  been  mentioned.     The  English  marine,  under  tZlpicIs 
of  Cabot  rapidly  increased  in  extent,  and  the  English  mar2Tr 
Bkill  and  bo  dness;  and  the  brilliant  reign  of  Eliith,  soTrtTc  n 
every  department  of  greatness,  was  illustrated  by  numerous  navl" 
exploits,  both  m  war  and  attempted  discovery.  ^The  attention  of 
he  learned  and  enterprising  was  revived  to  the  scheme  of  e  fcctii^ 
a  NorUi-west  Passagc-an  undertaking,  in  the  language  of  Ma  tin 
Frobisher  "the  only  thing  of  the  world,  yet  left  undone  wherebv  a 
no  able  mind  might  become  fortunate  a^l  famous."         '  ^  ' 

ior  fifteen  years,  that  navigator,  afterwards  so  famous  in  almost 
every  sea,  vainly  sought  the  means  of  pursuing  his  grand  desTr 
an    It  was  not  until  1576,  that  by  the'favour  of  theTarl  o    wTr! 
vick  he  was  enabled  to  fit  out  a  little  flotilla  of  three  vessels  the 
%^  of  which  was  only  thirty-five  tons,  and  the  sm^l^St^ 

hi  t?,rvTr  ,"  ^''''^■f''''^'^  ^'"torprise.    "In  reviewing  the 

8t^  k  wi  h  1    1  '"  1  ^"fl"''*'""-"'  *ho  most  casual  reader  must  be 

ent    V  "^^'  "^  insignificant  moans  with  which  the  grand! 

^   nterp  ,ses  were  attempted  and  often  accomplished.     Columbus 

annd  the  storms  of  a  most  tempestuous  winter,  rnade  his  way  ba"k  to 


24 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


I  I 


-. 


h 


I;  I 


Europe,  after  his  great  discovery,  in  an  open  caravel;  Hudaon,  with 
only  ten  men,  undertook  'to  find  a  passage  to  India  by  way  of  the 
north  pole;'  and  the  good  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  after  voyaging 
safely  to  Newfoundland  in  his  little  Squirrel,  (of  only  ten  tons,)  was 
finally  whelmed  in  a  tremendous  gale  beneath  the  'pyramid-like' 
seas  of  the  Atlantic." 

On  the  11th  of  July,  this  little  squadron  came  to  the  southern 
extremity  of  Greenland,  and,  keeping  to  the  westward,  on  the  18th 
of  August  again  made  land  on  some  part,  it  is  probable,  of  the  coast 
of  Labrador.  Here  the  voyagers  fell  in  with  parties  of  Esquimaux, 
who  came  off  to  the  vessels  in  their  seal-skin  boats ;  and  five  of  the 
crew,  who  too  rashly  went  ashore  with  them,  were  carried  off,  and 
could  not  be  recovered.  This  land  was  named  by  Frobisher  "  Meta 
Incognita."  One  of  his  little  vessels  was  swallowed  up  by  the  sea, 
and  another  deserted  him;  yet  he  pressed  on,  and  made  considerable 
surveys  in  those  dreary  regions.  On  his  return  to  England,  certain 
bits  of  glittering  stone  which  he  had  found  there  were  confidently 
pronounced  by  the  English  goldsmiths  to  be  no  other  than  gold  ore. 
The  announcement  of  this  fancied  discovery  of  the  precious  metal 
stimulated  the  nation  to  fresh  enterprise,  and  even  relaxed  the  strings 
of  the  royal  purse  (in  general  most  reluctantly  unloosed)  to  a  slight 
disbursement.  With  a  ship  of  an  hundred  and  eighty  tons,  furnished 
by  the  queen,  and  called  the  Ayde  (Aid),  and  with  two  smaller  ves- 
sels, on  the  2Gth  of  May,  1577,  he  again  set  forth  in  quest  of  gold 
mines  and  the  North-west  Passage. 

He  passed  Friesland,  and  thence,  stretching  over  to  Labrador, 
sailed  up  the  straits  which  still  bears  his  name,  and  which  he  sup- 
posed to  be  a  channel  dividing  Asia  and  America.  A  plenty  of  the 
alitteriuK  trash  which  had  deluded  him  was  found,  and  stowed  aboard 

DO  ' 

tlie  ship;  and  for  thirty  leagues  he  made  his  way  up  the  strait,  con- 
fidently supposing  that  it  led  to  the  Indian  ocean.  In  some  boats 
of  the  Esquimaux,  various  European  articles  were  found,  probably 
belonging  to  the  mariners  who  had  been  lost  on  the  preceding  voy- 
age. To  recover  these  or  to  revenge  their  death,  he  engaged  ia 
hostilities  with  the  savages,  who  fought  with  much  desperation, 
flinging  themselves,  when  mortally  wounded,  into  the  sea.  A  num- 
ber of  them  having  been  slain,  the  rest  took  refuge  among  the  clifis, 
all  the  men  of  the  party  making  their  escape.  "Two  women,"  says 
the  journal  of  the  voyage,  "not  being  so  apt  to  escape  as  the  men 
were,  the  one  being  olde,  the  other  encombred  with  a  yong  childe. 


THE  ENGLWII  IN  AMERICA 

25 

thc21stof  AugusjrhavtXrro?  ^""^'  ^^^^^^  ^°^  - 

bisher  perceived  the  dang  r^of  fu^^^^^^^^^ 

Accordingly,  ,        ,  ..^  ,„,  ^S'  L^  /^ted^^^^^^^^^^ 

bun  red  tons  of  shming  earth,  returned  to  England  '^  '^  *"^' 

Wonderful  to  state,  the  fallacy  of  the  imagined  Fl  T^      ^ 
not  yet  discovered.     The  ore  was  r^mn     """"f  """^  ^^  ^o^ado  was 
science,  and,  as  usual  where  ^^^7^  117  M    ''  T  ^' 
men  flocked  in  crowds  to  join  a  f^esh  ex?:^tio;    "^^^^^^^ 
with  preparations  for  a  settlement,  were  fitted  out  ^n/f  "^'^'^ 
mand  of  Frobisher,  on  the  81st  of  Cy  IW^       '        '  ^''^''  '°"^- 
land  of  imagined  treasure     After  In    ^'  T       '  ^'''"  '^'^"'^  ^^^  ^^e 
sto^s  and  Lbergs,  th^lettnL^d  l^aT^^^  '^"^^  ^- 
probably  the  chief  entrance  to  Hudsonfrv     4    .     ''^/'f  ^''*^' 
not  in  the  passage  he  had  formerly  entered  in  the  r!'  T  ''  "" 
gold,  Frobisher  put  about;  but  was  so  wTn      h^'"''  of  imagined 
locality  tbat  winter  almos  set  n  before  S^  1 7  '"  *^  ^""'^     I 
and  colonists,  disheartened  by  the  en"h  of   Z  "'  f  ""°^^      ' 

for  return;  one  shin  hden  wifr        r       !  ''"^'''Se,  clamoured 

to  abando;  his  ^itoI.oXZfZtr^^^^^  '^"''  ^°'"P^"^^ 
freighting  his  ships  with  the  .nnn      ^^  ^'^^^^^ry,  the  admiral, 

r,,  fi  •    .•         ■  supposed  treasure,  returned  to  Fn^io    i 

By  this  time,  its  worthlessness  had  been  fnirl,    v  ,^  ■"^• 

though  he  eagerly  besought  the  m  ans  ^10^  f  "'''^'''^'  ''^"^ 
attempts  at  the  North-west  Passage  I  1^^  f"''  ?ontmuing  his 
couraged  by  their  losses  and  misfSuts  '^l:jl\^'  ^-^T'  f^" 
assistance.     The  remainder  nf  V.,-o  iv  ^''"'^  '""^  ^•^^ther 

M  navigator.  '  it  lied   „'  1694  nf'  """"'  'I  '  '°^^  '^'^^^^^^  ^"^  ^^il- 
an  expedition  to  tl  e  Fre  ch    oat      '  ""'^'  "'"'  '^  ^^^^^^^  ^ 


Il£] 


20  THK  PEOPLE'S   BOO-K   01'"   IIISTOKY. 


CEAPTEB  III, 

KN0LI8H  KNTKRPUISK.  —  DUAKK,  —  BTU  HUMPHREY  OILBRRT 
ins  FIRST  ATTEMPT  TO  001,0  N  I  7,E   AMERICA. — SIR  WAL- 
TER RALEIOH. SIR  HUMPHREY  SAILS  FOR  AMERICA.— 

SHIPWRECKS  AND  MISFORTUNES. — THE  RETURN  VOYAOK. 
— TEMPESTS.— LOSS  OF  SIR  HUMPHREY  AND  HIS  CREW. 

Enoland,  in  the  midst  of  continual  loss  and  misfortune  by  her 
attempts  at  discovery,  at  mining,  and  at  colonization  in  tlio  Now 
World,  wius  now  fairly  embarked  in  her  grand  career  of  naval  ontor- 
priso— tbc  wcaltli  and  renown  acquired  by  her  daring  mariners  in 
their  half-ehivalrons,  half-piratical  expeditions  against  the  Spaniimls 
of  America  serving  to  keeji  alive  the  national  interest  in  that  region, 
and  a  knowledge  of  the  Western  Continent  being  incidentally  but 
materially  promoted  by  their  cruises.  At  the  same  time  that  Fro- 
bishcr  was  making  his  unsuccessful  voyages  in  search  of  gold  -and 
of  the  North-west  Passage,  Francis  Drake,  a  mariner  of  similar  and 
yet  greater  renown,  after  his  memorable  passage  of  the  straits  of 
Magellan,  wtus  engaged  in  a  survey  of  the  western  coast  of  North 
America,  in  the  course  of  which  ho  touched  on  the  shores  of  Oregon, 
which  he  named  New  Albion. 

The  example  of  entorpise,  stimulated  by  motives  purer  and  more 
honourable  than  those  of  either,  was  not  long  in  presenting  itself. 
Sir  Humphrey  Cnlbcrt,  a  man  of  high  character  and  amiable  temper, 
both  a  soldier  and  a  civilian,  had  interested  himself  much  in  the  daring 
but  futile  voyages  of  his  countrymen  in  search  of  a  North-west  IVs- 
a<i-e.  He  had  even  written  a  treatise,  founded  on  the  testimony  and 
opinion  of  "many  learned  men  and  painfull  travellers,"  "to  proove 
by  experience  of  sundrie  men's  travels  the  opening  of  some  part  of 
tiiis  North-west  Passage;  whereby  good  hope  reinainoth  of  the  rest. " 
No  words  could  have  phrased  more  elfeetually  that  expectant  longing, 
which  now  for  three  centuries  has  beset  men  of  courage,  of  enter- 
prise and  inquiry,  to  solve  the  grand  i^roblenv— "the  one  tiling  yet 
lea  undone  upon  the  earth  whereby  a  notable  mind  might  lie  made 
famous  and  fortunate"— of  a  eonnnunication  between  the  two  ocenns. 
That  terrible  probl.^m,  whose  linal  solution  we  have  just  witnessed, 


ers,    "to  proovo 


TUB   ENOLISII    IN    AMiiKIUA.  „^ 

111  tlio  year  1578  ho  obtained  from  Kliy.,>.<.fi, 

»io  jnri«.ic.i<„„  u,.u  civil  ..f:,;:^  rvr;rf"'"« 

»l,oul,l  plant  a  clony  there  within  .,ix  ycora     Ilia  hal  C,l       ,i 
fa„»««Sir  Wal,„,i(„|„i  I    then  twentv  ,ix  vn™  ^f         ,  '  "'° 

,.i„,.  free,  bythe  „™'.ik..,  of  S  i'oT  C^r;  Lnf' 

uiis  txpoilition,  uolaycd   and  wpn.k..norl    i,„        •  •  „    i*'"^- 

imally  sailed  with  o^  i^ots7I.ZJL  T"''"  "'''^'''-^^^'' 
.1  <j  •  1  1  "^  vLsaciH,  one  ol  wluch  was  canturcfl  hv 
tho  Spaniards;  the  crew  of  the  other  returned  witho,,;  .ffi  r  ^ 
thing  in  the  way  of  settlement.  ^^  '^'"''"fe'  ^"-^ 

entorpruse.  Sir  Humphrey,  in  person,  commanding  th    expedit7 

=r^::2^:;i::.Se:^;rc^ri&T 'r 

>«  fur„i»hed  by  the  famou,  man  akr  w  cm  it  ™  nti  ej  1?  ' 
woro  two  hundred  and  sixty  men  on  board,  inclnZ,  ™  lie  d 
™aeralog,»t,j  and  a  learned  Hungarian,  named  Parm'en  ,  «  uk  ' 
as  the  c  r„„ol„g«r  of  the  expedition.    There  was  al»>  pro;rdtd  ,av' 

c  t  t^yc,,  „,  Morns-daneers,  hobbyhorse,  and  the  like  eoneeit  to 
<W.8i,t  the  savage  people,  whom  we  intended  to  win  bv  «1    ai^ 

meaiies  possible "  •'         ^^^^^ 

nc,^  tl.e  ceremony  of  diking  possession  in  the  name  of  the V„  J 

'"o  "P  a  pillar,  to  which  the  arms  of  Endand  were  iffivpH 

Te:::":,;rj  7r''  t  ''-'^'-''^  -^  -« ^^^-'^^-^ 

Q    TT      7  '*'  '""'  abandoned,  while  with  tlie  remaindor 

0  :7a If r"i 'r- ^-^'^^-^ ^'""^' ^^'^ --^ towards th^:: 

way,  the  largest  ship  remaining,  with  the  ore,  was  wrecked, 


m4 
I  "Ml 

I 

I     ■' 


28 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTOKY. 


and  a  hundred  souls  perished,  including  the  Hungarian.  Return 
was  now  considered  necessary,  and  in  the  midst  of  terrible  storms 
and  tempests,  the  prows  were  turned  homeward.  "  Sir  Humphrey 
had  chosen  to  sail  in  a  little  tender,  called  the  Squirrel,  a  mere  cockle- 
shell in  size — '  too  small  to  pass  through  the  ocean  sea  at  that  season 
of  the  year.'  In  vain  did  the  officers  of  the  Hinde,  the  larger  vessel 
entreat  him,  in  this  dangerous  weather,  to  shift  his  flag  aboard  their 
ship.  He  came  on  board,  for  a  convivial  meeting,  but  returned  to 
his  slender  craft,  saying,  'I  will  not  desert  my  little  company,  with 
whom  I  have  passed  so  many  storms  and  perils.' 

"The  weather  grew  heavier  and  heavier;  the  oldest  sailors  de- 
claring that  they  had  never  seen  such  seas — '  breaking  very  high ' 
says  a  spectator,  'and  pyramid-wise' — the  very  worst  sea  that  is 
known.  Lights  were  burned  at  night,  and  the  little  Squirrel,  for  a 
long  time,  was  seen  gallantly  contending  with  the  waves,  which 
almost  ingulphed  her.  Once  she  came  so  near  that  they  of  the  Hinde 
could  see  Sir  Humphrey  sitting  by  the  mainmast,  with  a  book  in  his 
hand,  reading.  He  looked  up,  and  cried  cheerily,  '  We  are  as  necre 
to  Heaven  by  sea  as  by  laud.'  But  the  seas  broke  over  her  more 
heavily;  about  midnight,  all  at  once,  the  lights  were  extinguished- 
and  in  the  morning  nothing  was  seen  of  the  good  Sir  Humphrey  or 
his  little  ship.  She  had  doubtless  been  whelmed  by  the  toppling 
down  of  some  huge  pyramid  of  water.  Such  was  the  melancholy 
but  honourable  end  of  one  of  the  worthiest  and  most  persevering 
patrons  of  English  enterprise.  He  perished  in  the  pursuance  of  his 
own  exalted  maxim :  '  That  he  is  not  worthy  to  live  at  all,  who  for 
fear  or  danger  of  death,  shunneth  his  country's  service  or  his  own 
honor;  for  death  is  inevitable  and  fame  immortal.'"* 
*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  America. 


THE   ENGLISH   IN  AMERICA.  ^0 


CHAPTSH   I?, 

THE    PATENT    OP    RALEIOH.— HE    DISPATCHES    AMIDAS    AND 
BARLOW    TO    CAROLINA:     THEIR    REPORT.— THE     COUNTRY 
XAMED  VIRGINIA  —  VOYAGES  OF  DAVIS,  ETC.-SECOND   EX- 
PEDITION   OF    RALEIGH,   UNDER  LANE.— SETTLEMENT  AT 
ROANOKE.— FOLLT  AND  CRUELTY  OF  THE  ENGLISH. 
—THE    INDIANS.  — MASSACRE   BY   THE  ENGLISH. 
—FAILURE  AND  RETURN  OF  THE   EXPEDITION. 

Ealeigh  whose  enterprising  spirit  was  dismayed  neither  by  the 
loss  of  his  brother,  nor  the  wreck  and  failure  of  the  late  expedition, 
immediately  resolved  to  renew  the  attempt,  and  seeure  to  himself 
the  glory  of  the  first  founder  of  an  English  settlement  in  America 
To  one  so  high  in  the  queen's  favour,  letters  patent,  of  the  most  liberal 
nature,  were  readily  issued,  granting  him  power  to  colonize,  with 
almost  unlimited  personal  jurisdiction,  "such  remote,  heathen,  and 
barbarous  lands  as  are  not  actually  possessed  by  any  Christians,  or 
inbabited  by  any  Christian  people."    No  particular  region  was  spe- 
cified  as  the  subject  of  this  indefinite  grant;  but,  warned  by  the  fate 
of  former  enterprises,  he  had  resolved  to  plant  his  settlement  in  the 
milder  regions  of  the  south.     The  very  year  after  the  loss  of  Sir 
Humphrey  on  the  27th  of  April,  1584,  he  dispatched  two  vessels, 
well  provided  with  men  and  supplies,  under  two  experienced  cap! 
tains,  Amidas  and  Barlow,  to  the  American  coast 

Taking  the  circuitous  route  of  the  Canaries  and  the  West  Indies 
which,  strange  to  say,  for  many  years  was  considered  the  only  prac^ 
ticable  track,)  after  a  voyage  of  two  months,  they  arrived  off  the 
shores  of  Carolina.     For  more  than  a  hundred  miles  they  sailed 
along  the  coast,  seeking  a  harbour,  and  on  the  13th  of  July,  entered 
Ocracoke  In  et.     Here  the^  landed  on  an  island,  delighted  with  the 
oftness  of  the  climate  and  the  beauty  of  the  vegetation,  and  took 
formal  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Elizabeth.     The 
natives,  at  first  shy  and  timid,  proved  gentle  and  friendly,  and  on 
the  island  of  Eoanoke  the  voyagers  were  entertained  with  much 
hospitality  at  the  residence  of  the  chief     After  making  some  brief 
survey  of  the  coast,  they  returned  to  England,  where  the  glowing 
description  which  they  gave  of  the  beauties  of  the  region,  encouraged 


80 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


the  projector,  and  revived  fresh  enterprise  in  the  nation.     In  honour 
of  his  patroness,  Raleigh  bestowed  on  the  newly  discovered  region 
the  name  of  Virginia— a  name,  like  that  of  Florida  and  of  Louis- 
iana, originally  applied  to  a  tract  far  more  extensive  than  even  the 
broad  and  beautiful  state  by  which  it  is  now  borne. 

A  fresh  stimulus,  at  this  time,  was  given  to  the  North-Western  enter- 
prise, and  the  voyages  of  Davis,  in  1585,  6,  7,  though  unsuccessful  in 
accomplishing  their  design,  added  greatly  to  the  geographical  knowl- 
edge of  the  dreary  seas  and  coasts  in  that  direction.  The  voyages  and 
discoveries  of  the  famous  Henry  Hudson,  resulting  in  his  own  de- 
struction, but  in  the  eternal  commemoration  of  his  name,  occurred 
a  few  years  later.     (See  "The  Dutch  in  America.") 

The  year  after  the  return  of  his  pioneer-vessels,  (1585,)  Raleigh 
then  in  the  full  tide  of  court  favour  and  increasing  wealth,  fitted  out 
a  fresh  expedition,  of  seven  vessels,  with  an  hundred  and  eight  col- 
onists, under  command  of  Ralph  (afterwards  Sir  Ralph)  Lane,  des- 
tined for  the  shores  of  Carolina.  His  friend,  Sir  Richard  Grenville 
one  of  the  bravest  and  choicest  spirits  of  the  age,  commanded  the 
fleet,  which,  on  the  9th  of  April,  set  sail  from  Plymouth.  Taking 
the  usual  circuitous  route,  it  passed  through  Ocracoke  Inlet  to  the 
island  of  Roanoke ;  and  Grenville,  with  Lane  and  others,  made  a 
tour  of  exploration.  They  were  well  entertained  by  the  natives 
whom  they  encountered— in  return  for  which,  as  usual  with  the 
European  adventurers,  provoked  by  slight  injury,  they  took  cruel 
and  indiscriminate  revenge.  "At  Aquascogoe,"  says  Sir  Ralph, 
"the  Indians  stole  a  Silver  Cup,  wherefore  we  burnt  the  towne,  and 
spoyled  their  corne,"  &c.,  &c.  What  an  exceedingly  low  standard 
of  morality,  of  policy,  of  common  decency  even,  do  acts  like  these, 
recorded  a  hundred  times  by  their  authors  with  the  most  naive  un- 
consciousness, exhibit  I 

The  settlers,  under  Lane,  left  on  the  island  of  Roanoke,  at  first 
were  all  enjoyment  at  the  serenity  of  the  climate  and  beauty  of  the 
country.  "It  is  the  goodliest  soil,"  says  their  governor,  "under  the 
cope  of  heaven;  the  most  pleasing  territory  of  the  world;  the  con- 
tinent is  of  a  huge  and  unknown  greatness,  and  well  peopled  and 
towned,  though  savagely."  The  native  culture  of  tobacco,  of  maize, 
and  the  potato,  was  observed  with  much  interest;  an  interest  wliich 
would  have  been  redoubled,  could  the  visitors  have  foreseen  the  vast 
magnitude  and  importance  which  the  production  of  these  articles 
was  destined  one  day  to  assume. 


r 


A  more  particular  observuinn  ^p  ti     r    ^■ 
been  nKulo/was  taken  bX  l:'/^"    "'7'^  ^^""  '^"^^^  ^''^^-*« 
ally  a  feeble,  inoffensive  L^    dw^  ?'  '  :"^'"^  '""'^  '^  g«"er- 

tri--  of  no  great  separ^S^o  "fee"  m:  t "  I ^ '  ''''  ^^^"^■"° 
'  eially  devoted  himself  to  the  .Ih  T.  n  ''  ^'"'•"*'  ^^''^"  ^'^P<> 
endioured  to  indoe  r  n.te  th"?l/""''"^'/"-''"°  *'---  -^^ 
They  manifested  mueh  reZlTL7:ZT  '^"^  f  ^'^"^^'•'^"'^^• 
then,  hissing  it  and  hugging  it^::^';^  b^^:"!;^^  ^^if '^^'  " 
•sidonng  It  "a  great  medicine."     They  UdTl  .  ?"^"'''  '■^^"■ 

Divine  Existence  and  the  immort.  Itv  of  fh  ^T'  "^  ^'^''^  '"  ^^« 
tells  a  pleasant  story  of  one  o7t S  f  ,  ,'""' '  '"^"^^  *'^^  ''^"^^'^^^^ 
but  was  afterwards  e'xhurd  d  1^^  A  ''7  '""^^  ^^^  '^^'' 
the  recovered  patient  "simwed  th  itrill  "  ^'"r'^V^'^g  *«  ^he  Indians, 
in  the  grave,  yet  his  sou  ted  ^  'T^l  ^  '1i  I''  ^'^'"^  ^^^ 
broad  way,  on  both  sides  wherl;  "  cw  m  ""  ''  '"  '"  '"^  ^^"^ 
delicate  trees  and  fruits  than  ev"  ifeC seeTb  "7"^''  '^^^^'  «"^ 
came  to  the  most  brave  ind  fZrll  ''^°''''  «*  ^«»gth  he 

I'ather,  that  was  deacUonra.f^'l^or^^^  ^«  -t  his 

to  shew  his  friends  what  gooJ  th^re 'f t.        '^■'"'^'  '"  ^''  ^acke 
«f""^n>Iace;  which  when  h  e    Td  Ze "^^^^^^^^ 

Allured  by  fanciful  and  n,  rl  '     f    ^"'"'^  ^""^«  "&«>"•" 

.-t  t,.easur^  at  Z::l^^ ^Z^^^'  "^  -^-^"^ 

of  his  people,  ascended  its  rapid  s  ream    %n'  "'''^.  '  "'^'"^^^ 

soon  exhaustcl,  yet  ^Iuh-  pressed  on    "      •        u"  P''"^'«'°"«  ^'^re 

t|>^.t,  being  boyl.^  with  ^^^^e.^^^  thlJf  T^  '''' 

tboM' return,"  but  aceon.plish<.d  nothinlofT       t^     '^'  ^^''^  ^" 

<'''^^'PP<^i"tod.     A  most  outralo       1^ ,  •^''''  ""^  ^^*"^"«d 

Tl.e  neighboring  India^  !rr       ,";:;  .r^^r ' ■'"  ''''''''''''■ 

-angers,  had  conspired  against  them  !  T  W  :itr::hr  1  '^^ 

»>gan  mterview  with   Ki„,.  Winojno    tl  '        I   ^^^ers,  desir- 

'■e.ion,  treacherously  attaekJl  Z^^^^^  hZ^'f  > ''"'  ^'  ^''^^ 

I"  June,  1586,  the  /hmous  Sir  Fr  n  i    ^  '  '":",""V"« attendants. 

tb-e  ships,  eame  to  anchor  of      e    ^h  !  '7'     .f  '",'  ^'^""^^•>^- 

,^<tic  commander  did  everv  ^  in     •    T      '         '  "'°"-'^  ^^^^t  encr- 

-'""i«t,s,  and  to   furn  ;  Lm  ':ith   aH  '""  '°  '^"^^^^^^^  ^'^^ 

d-pondif  g  of  success,  they  deld        rln,Tr''  T'^^"'"'  ^^*' 

eordingly,  he  took  them  aboanU ,'  fleet     n  7  """•     ^«- 

la'Hl-the  principal  result  of  t      r   Im  "^  "'''■'"'  ''"'"  ^°  ^"S" 

introductiou   to  .hat  country  oft  e  t  smor"'""'   '""^  '^" 

which  they  had  learned  of  iL  LKlians  ""    ""^  *°^"'^'°' 

V'oh  IV.-~3i 


mKKEKm 


oo  THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  H18T0KY. 


CEAPTEE   Y, 

8MAIL  SETTLEMENT  PLANTED  BY  ORENVILLE  AT  ROANOKE  DE- 
STROYED BY  THE  INDIANS  —THIRD  EXPEDITION  OP   RALEIOK. 
—  FIRST   ENGLISH  CHILD  IN  A  M  E  RIC  A  — LOSS  AND  SUP- 
POSED    DESTRUCTION     OP    THE    ROANOKE    COLONY,— 
MISFORTUNES   OF  R  A  L  EI  G  U.— T  A  R  D  1  N  ESS  AND  ILL- 
FORTUNE  OF  ENGLISH  ENTERPRISE.  — REFLECTIONS, 

Only  a  few  days  after  the  hasty  and  ill-advised  departure  of  Lane 
and  his  people,  a  vessel,  dispatched  by  Raleigh,  with  abundant  sup- 
plies, arrived  at  the  deserted  settlement;  and  soon  afterwards,  Gren- 
villei  with  three  more  ships,  also  well  supplied,  came  to  the  «imc 
place.  He  left  fifteen  men  on  the  island ;  but  the  next  comers  found 
there  only  the  ruins  of  their  fort  and  dwellings,  amid  which  human 
bones,  the  evidence  of  Indian  hostility,  lay  bleaching. 

Raleigh,  on  learning  of  the  desertion  of  his  settlement,  with  inde- 
fatigable industry,  set  to  work  afresh;  and  in  April,  1587,  dispatched 
ano'ther  expedition,  with  e-special  provision  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
land  and  with  a  number  of  women,  that  the  comforts  of  a  home  might 
be  early  established.     In  July,  the  fleet  arrived  at  Roanoke,  where 
the  sad  evidences  of  the  destruction  of  Grenville's  men  were  oh- 
served;  and,  though  the  projector  had  ordered  that  the  new  settle- 
ment sbnild  be  founde<l  on  Cliesapeake  Bay,  yet,  on  account  of  the 
impatience  of  the  naval  commander,  the  governor.  White,  and  \m 
neonlc  disembarked  on  the  island,     Indian  hostilities  wore  soon 
renewed  in  the  murder  of  one  of  the  settlers— and  the  latter,  attaek- 
ing  a  party  of  the  natives  by  night,  foun.l  too  late  that  they  helonged 
to  a  friemllv  tribe.     On  the  18th  of  August,  ir.87,  Virginia  Dare, 
the  first  child  born  of  English  parents  in  the  United  States,  was 
ushered  into  a  brief  and  ill-fated  being. 

White,  by  the  urgent  request  of  the  colonists,  consisting,  at  his 
departure,  of  an  hundred  and  eighteen  persons,  of  whom  seventeen 
were  women,  and  two  children,  returned  to  England  in  one  of  the 
vessels,  to  provide  further  sui.plics.  But  the  momentous  events  just 
then  occurring  in  the  equipment  and  defeat  of  tlio  Spanish  Armm 


retarded  the  desired  as.sistanoe;    and  Raleigh,  who  had  exp 


leiKled 


Virtriiiiii  Dare, 


forty  thousand  pounds  of  Lis  eatnto  in  n 

Virginia,  wa.  Jnpolled  to^li     li  "  ,f^'  "l"^  ''''"'^'  *°  -'«--« 
sig-iing  certain  of  l.is  ri-d-tr tn  ^''^^rpnse  to  others-as- 

Such  delay,  hovvev  olid  i  Tf"^  '^'  '^"''""  "^-^'-"^^• 
t^atitwaslt  until  l^Z^-^^^S.  ^f-\-peditio,„ 
settlers  had  disappeared-    and  'V      ,     .^'"^  '^  liuanoke;  but  the 

lost  colony  has  oJ\Zt^r7'::TV'''^''^''''''''^ 
perished  fron.  Indian  hostility  ^'       '  '"'  ^"''^''^'  '' 

Strangely  enough,  all  the  efforts  of  one  of  tl..         .  •      „• 
wealth3-,  and  persevering  nien  of  Enlhnd  f       v  '  '"'^"'o'^^^ 

An,crica  proved  ineilee^.al.  s!  wS^'.  1  'T;'  ";'"'""^ '" 
peatedeflbrtsinbel,alfofVir.n„il      1  °^''  ^''"^''  '^'«  '^■ 

-t  voyages,  destined  to  e^^'t^'lll^j'^r^f^"^^'^  the  north- 
age,  broken  down  bviin.,ri«nn;'  '"' ,  '^'''^'^  ^^tde,  and,  in  his  old 
ihnde.  oxpedui:n^  'r  O^ri^ff^'/'f-^  -  equally 
a..a.    Whatever  Lis  errors T  x  ?      .  ^"''^  '''''''  ^^  «"•■ 

wnidohin.justieeasares".:  :::r  ""  ''^  '"°^^^'^'  ^^^^"^'^ 
aaJ  a  ibunder  of  eoloni^ttrrr  /l  \^"''"■''''''■' "  ^^''^^^^ 

r-uakable  age-  a.'d  Ante   o.  "'"''  ^''"''"'  ^'^''-^^^^^t^'-  "^  ^ 

Fcnoter  of  her  welfare-a  man  wwl^      .    ;'  ""^^  ^'I^T^^""^ 

-dertukn,g  An.er.can  e^c^^  ^^  '  1  "7  "^^''1  ^"-'^  -^'^  of 
--J-ed,"  says  a  later  advc^^'  «itt!  ^f  ^'  ^  ^^'"1  '"'^ 
109U  to  this  year  1(JU'>  "    In  \f  '  ,         "^  "^  ''"'^  obscured  from 

""dertheadv^^ofliale    i:;if;:V''^"^^^ 

U-t  Indi  s.  Sno.:^.;t'.  ""T'"'''"'^^''  ^'-^--i--i 
afteruvoyageof    :  «  the  experu«ent  succeeded;  and 

to  Awii-tts.  iieM  atd  i^'T  ;r''  f'  "'"'°'^^'^^-  -- 

inlands,  and  havu.g  ii'i^  od  b^lk  ^  1  '  "l'  "'  ^'"  ^^'"^^'^^^ 
by  trailic Iron,  the  Tndi  ,?  ^L,  .  "'^  ^"'^^  T^^''  "'""'^'■'"  ^^'-"^^ 
stimulated  by  his  si     u  "J"' '"  '"'°''^'^^-     ^^'^^erpriso, 

•^J    ills   bUCCCSS,   was    J'(Mi(Ui-.N<l       t.    *.l         T      ■  . 

of  tlie  day,  and  much  of  the  L  r;  e.  h  "'""''''  '^"^^'^'^ 

voyages,  fannliurizing  navi^ato^      1  H       "'''"'" ^T"'^"^-     ^"^'^ 

^'--^"-i'-n..:.theC:::t:;;:::^ 


%t 


84 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


til 


had 


ideil 


auccccueil  iii  gaining  a 
pcnnanciit  foutingon  tho  shores  of  tho  New  World,  and  had  con- 
quered or  founded  wealthy  empires  in  the  south,  England,  licr  claims 
and  her  endeavours  cliiony  confined  to  the  more  barren  and  incle- 
ment ro-ions  of  the  north,  had  as  yet  reaped  nothing  but  loss  and 
misfortn"ie  from  her  enterprise  in  the  New  World.     Not  a  single 
«pot  on  that  vast  continent  now  mostly  peopled  by  her  children,  was 
tlie  settled  habitation  of  an  Englishman.     "  In  reviewing  the  liistory 
of  American  coloni/ation,  the  mind  is  at  first  struck  with  tlic  won- 
derful brilliancy  and  rapidity  of  Spanish  discovery  and  conqnest 
during  the  first  century  of  their  career;  an  impression  naturally  fol- 
lowed"by  the  refl.-ction  that  in  the  end  no  substantial  advantage  has 
accrued  to  the  nation  whose  enterprise  laid  open  the  pathway  to  tbe 
Now  World,  and  whose  valour  and  genius  were  the  first  to  avail 
themselves  of  its  templing  opportunities.      Extermination  of  the 
native  inhabitants,  bigoted  exclusion  of  foreigners,  and,  in  the  end, 
ontraoeous  oppression  of  her  own  dependencies,  have  marked,  almost 
wilh.Hit  exception,  the  colonial  administration  of  Spain,  and  have 
finally  resulted  in  its  nearly  complete  annihilation.    Her  once  numer- 
ous provinces,   alienated  by   mismanagement   and   tyranny,  have 
found    in  republican  anarchy,  a  questionable  relief  from  parental 
misrule;  while  that  beautiful  island,  almost  the  solitary  jewel  in  her 
crown,  and  only  proving,  by  its  exception,  the  general  rule  of  her 
losses,  is  held  by  a  tenure  so  insecure  as  hardly  to  deserve  the  name 

of  possession. 

"For  an  hundred  and  ten  years,  the  rival  nations  of  France  and 
England  hardlv  took  a  step  in  the  same  direction,  or,  if  they  did, 
under  circumstances  of  such  gross  ignorance  and  infatuation,  as  were 
almost  certain  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  success.  The  various 
and  widely-severed  colonies  of  France,  founded,  through  a  century 
of  misfortunes  and  discouragements,  by  ardent  and  indefatigable 
servants  of  the  crown,  have,  with  one  or  two  insignificant  exceiitions, 
slipped  from  her  hands-^not  from  any  want  of  loyalty  or  national 
affection  in  the  provincial  inhabitants,  but  from  the  feebleness  of 
the  French  marine,  ever  unable  to  compete  with  that  of  her  haughty 
rival,  and  quite  inefficient  for  the  protection  and  retention  of  dis- 
tant colonies. 

"England,  the  last  to  enter  on  the  noble  enterprise  of  peopling 
the  New  Uemisphere,  but  finally  bringing  to  the  task  a  spirit  of 
progress,  a  love  of  freedom,  and  a  strength  of  principle,  unknown  to 


TJIE    ENGLISH    IN   AMKKltfA. 

oo 

her  i.rcdeccs«ors,  I.uh  founded,   amid  disastrous  and  unpromising 

«t  ..not  to  the  i^o;.ourtrr:c::;;:ct:s^s 

rnu„kuK  ;  aue.np.ro  already  prosperous  beyond  all  exam  le       h^s 
ory,  and  des  n.ed,  U  is  probable,  at  no  distant  day.  to  u  i  e  und 
U.  gonial  protection  every  lea,a.e  of  that  vast  eo.ft  nent  s treteh  n^ 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Paeilie,  from  the  tropical  fores,  of  M^ 
to  the  eternal  snows  of  the  Arctic  Circle."* 

*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  America. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  VIRGINIA. 


MEMOIR   OP   CAPTAIN   JOHN   SMITH.  —  HIS    YOUTHPUI,   ADVEN- 
TURES  AND   SERVICES.  —  HE   TURNS   HKRMIT.  —  HIS   ADVKN- 
TURES    IN    FUANCK.  —  HE    IS    PI.UNO   0VERH0AR1). — SEA- 
PIQHT, — TRAVELS    IN    ITALY.  —  HIS    CAMPAIGN    AGAINST 

THE      TURKS. SIEGE     OF     RKOAI.I,. — THE     THREE 

TURKS'    HEADS. — SMITH    SENT    A    SLAVE   TO   TAR- 

TARY;    HIS  WONDERFUL   ESCAPE. — SUBSEQUENT 

ADVENTURES. — RETURNS    TO    ENGLAND. 


No  account  of  American,  and  still  los.s  of  Virginian  coloni/cation, 
W(jukl  bo  cuuiplctc  without  sumo  memoir  of  that  rcnuirkable  iiiuu  to 
whoso  unwearied  persuiuil  exertions  the  foundation  of  an  i'lnglish 
commouweaUh  in  tlii.s  country  is  almost  entirely  due.  Iluinance 
would  hardly  venture  to  imagine  adventures  more  marvellous,  or 
courage  more  chivalrous  than  his;  and  when  to  a  temper  the  must 
sprightly,  adventurou.-*,  and  enterpii^ing  of  his  day,  wi  re  udded  the 
unsurpassed  qualities  of  judgment,  of  perseverance,  of  fortitude,  and 
of  forbearance,  the  result  could  hardly  fail  to  bo  a  character  oF  do 
ordinary  greatiie.-!ri,  and  the  work  fhis  life  a  work  destined  in  some 
manner  to  all'cct  the  interests  of  mankind.  His  extraordiiuin 
career,  fortunately  detailed,  in  good  part,  with  modest  quaintiie.ss, 
by  his  own  pen,  will  ever  renuiin  the  delight  of  youth,  uud  tlie 
udnnration  of  the  historical  reader. 

Captain  John  Smith,  incomparably  the  greatest  and  most  famous 
of  English  adventurers  in  America,  was  born  of  a  good  liunilyal 
AVilloughby,  Lineoln.^hire,  in  157U.  His  mind,  from  childhood,  set 
on  adventni'c  and  travel,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  secretly  .suld  liis 
books  and  satchel,  and  was  about  going  oil'  to  sea,  when  interrupted 
by  the  death  of  his  father.  His  guardians  apprenticed  him  to  a 
merchant  of  Lynn,  whom,  in  consequence  of  refusal  to  gratify  his 


J 


THK    8E 

taste  for  tho  son,  he  spp 

win  of  Lord  Willou^rhJ, 
the  iVctlierljirKlM.  tlw.n 

TTLKMENT   OF   VIKOINIA. 


-''J'ly  quitted,  and  with  1 


liiH  yonriR  patron,  tho 


fvramij;  iitid  SLTvod  Noriio  tlin 
ry-ftn  Englishrmin,  con.nmridin 


>y,  wont  into  Franco.     Thom-o  hi:  ..paind    o 
engaged   in   their  «truuLdn  .....,•...»... 


iiggk 


'"  or  Tour  yoars  under  ( 


ugaiiiHt  Spanish 


if  Prince  Maurice.     Ho  sailed  to  Scothii 


ig,  It  would  Hccni,  in  tl 


iiptain  I)i 


IX- 


10  Hervico 


Ifolj'  Ishvnid  finding  „,,  eh 
bet 


finoe  of 


"'.  l>ut  was  shij)wrocked  at 


ai'.uii 


:()olv  h 


preferment  nt  tlio  Seotti 


common  to  ardent  and 


i>-.lf  to  WiiK,n,dd,y.     Here;  by  one  cif 


nud  unagin; 


»h  court, 
-  thoHo  freaks 

-.I«.SI.  «tl,„r after  ^iieS^:::^^  ^^Z, ",', ' ,'"""'' 

pnces  of  civilized  life  he  made  },i«  nK           t      ?  ^          "^  conveni- 
I'i"  "-rathe,  (.I.icl,  like tta  .^     *„    L ".'.'T'  "'""««  "f 

™« .  g„„,i  i,o,,c,  with  1,  tZ:  I     ;'"■";  •'"'■'*'"' '"-  '-■-'■ 

••oul.l  not  content  him   but  hon  r.»         ,         .'^'^"g  "»*«'  pleasures 
.ri..s"-inte„din.Ao   m.kl  V  ""^  "°""'^  ^'^  ^''^  '^^^  ^^"""- 

poverty,  ";v„„,l,.ri„,rr'o„° -"'■"'    "'  '"""'  '"""■""  "'"' 

;» -pen.  .,,t  ,e  .aS  aa^'  z  'z,:  r^'^ri-TLXr:,:; 

'■•J.l.arali  Karmcr  found  him  by  a  faire  F„„„f.,i,  ? 

THs  tin,le  P..,„„t  .elecve.l  l,im  af,„  „' '  "  ^r;"'   N  ?  f™' 

formerly  pa..ed  "     Wo  nnvf /'I  '    "  ''""^'•'■"'''  ^'''''t  '^''J 


<i  route  of  j^ilgrims,  of  d 


ivcrs  nations/'  Lmin?  to 


'J' 


*.  ■ . 


vm 


38 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


Eonie,  and  put  to  sea.     Compelled  by  tempests,  the  ship  anchored 
under  the  Isle  of  St.  Mary,  off  Niee,  where  the  "inhumane  Provin- 
cialls,"  concluding  that  Smith,  in  his  double  capacity  of  Englishman 
and  heretic,  was  their  Jonah,  set  upon  him,  "hourely  cursing  him," 
he  tells  us,  "not  onely  for  a  Iluguenoit,  but  his  Nation  they  swore, 
were  all  Pyrats,  and  so  vildly  railed  on  his  dread  sovereigne,  Queeiu' 
Flizuhdh,  and  that  they  never  should  have  faire  weather  as  long  as 
hce  was  aboard  them  ;  their  disputations  grew  to  that  passion"  (stim- 
ulated, perhajis,  by  the  liberal  use  of  a  staff,  with  which  the  gallant 
Captain  requited  their  assaults)  "that  they  threw  him  overboard,  yet 
God  brought  him  to  that  little  Isle,  where  was  no  inhabitants  hut  a 
few  kine  and  goats."     With  his  customary  good-luck,  however,  next 
morning  he  was  taken  on  board  of  the  Britaine,  a  French  ship,  and 
handsomely  entertained  by  the  captain.     Sailing  to  Alexandria,  the 
ship  discharged  her  freiglit,  and  thence  passed  over  to  the'  northern 
coasts.     Meeting  with  a  large  Venetian  argosy,  the  French  captiiiii 
hailed  her,  and  was  answered  by  a  shot  which  lost  him  a  man.    A 
naval  battle,  contested  with  great  fury,  and  lasting  for  some  hours, 
with  all  the  horrors  of  broadsides,  boarding,  danger  of  conflagration, 
&c.,  ensued;  but  after  the  argosy  had  lost  twenty  men  and  was  ready 
to  sink,  she  yielded.     All  was  now  active  exertion  in  stopping  hor 
leaks  and  transferring  her  cargo  to  the  victor.     "The  Silkes,  Vel- 
vets, Cloth  of  Gold,  and  Tissue,  Pyasters,  Chicqueenes,  and  Sultanies, 
(which  is  gold  and  silver,)  they  unloaded  in  four  and  twenty  houres, 
was  wouderfull,  whereof  liaving  sufficient,  and  tired  with  toile,  they 
cast  her  oil'  with  her  company,  with  as  much  good  merchandize  as 
would  have  fraughted  another  Britaine,  that  was  but  two  hundred 
Tunnes,  shee  foure  or  five  hundred."     As  a  reward  for  his  valour 
in  this  desperate   engagement.  Smith   received  live   hundred  chic- 
queenes "and  a  little  box  God  sent  him"  (he  piously  adds)  "worth 
ueere  as  much  more." 

Landing  in  Piedmont,  he  travelled  through  much  of  Italy,  spent 
some  time  in  surveying  the  rugged  and  picturesque  coast  of  Albania 
and  Dalnuitia,  and,  eager  for  a  chance  to  fight  against  the  Turks, 
finally  made  his  way  to  Gratz,  in  Syria,  where  was  the  court  of  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand,  of  Austria.  No  time  could  have  been  more 
propitious  to  his  hopes.  The  memorable  war  with  the  Great  Turk, 
Mahomet  II.,  was  then  in  full  exyntest,  and  the  young  adventurer, 
introduced  by  some  of  his  countrymen  to  the  high  officers  of  the 
imperial  service,  soon  found  an  ample  field  for  the  display  of  his 


THE  SETTLEMliNT   OF  VlfiOlNlA. 

ou 

he  io°ned  the  -irnn    it  '°^  of  Oljmpcha,  .oon  after 

DC  joinea  iiic  aimj,  by  an  ingenious  system  of  teh<rr;uL>  r,«  o   i 
»„„,..oJ  a  plan  wUl,  .,,„  ,ani,„„,  b/whicl.  .,,!fe      "",.:«;  :! 
slaughter,  were  conipelKM    to  raise  the  sipirp      n.  ? 

cu.innand  of  two   1  undred   .urfiffv      ^  ,         "^  '''"'^''^  ^'"^ 

f  1/    1  Af  1  ,  .         ''^^"  '^"^'  nfty  men  in  the  regiment  of  tlio 

.n,ou.s  turl  Moldnteh  and  exeeuted  other  ingenious  d^evi  es\"'u 
h:  cncny,  wind,  in  his  biography,  are  quaintly  titled  "An  ^k 
I.:    stratagem  by  ^n.th;    another    not   much  worse;"  "A  pX 
stratagem   of  fire- works    by   Smith,"  &e.,  &c.     One  of  these  con 
tnvances,  at  the  siege  of  StowIIe-Wesenbi  rg,  (1601)  consit^d  o^  ' 
great  number  of  bombs  or  grenades,  prepaTed  wit,;\ T::  ; L fo 
explosive  and   combustible  materials,    which,  by  means         "eat 
slnigs,  he  flung  into  the  thickest  of  the  besieged      -At  ml  "  w 
upon  the  alarum,"  he  says,  "it  was  a  feareful   ig!  t  beho  d^  e    f    ; 
Jaianjg  course  of  their  Ilight  in  the  aire,  but%^r::en   ^  r^     ^^^^ 
fall,  the  lamen  able  noise  of  the  miserably  slaughtered  TnlZ 
nio.  woiK  erful  to  heare."     This  town,  which  the  latter  had  held  fi 
nearly  sixty  years,  was  iinally  tak.n  by  storm,  "with  such  am 
cilesse  execution  as  was  most  pitiful]  to  behold."    Soon  after  thov 
were  agam  defeated  with  the  loss  of  six  thousand  menTa  battl    oT 
the  plains  of  Girke,  and  Smith,  half  of  whose  re.  me      w.s  cut  tn 
pieees  as  he  says  "  had  his  horse  slaine  under  him° Tnd  Lrelfl 
wounded;    but   he  was  not  long  unmounted,  for  there  J   W 
enovgh  of  horses  that  ivantud  masters:' 

The  Christian  army,  seventeen  thousand  stron-    under  PrinoP 
Mo3.es  and  Earl  Meldriteh,  laid  siege  to  Regall,  a  stTo  g  a  id  TlZ 
.nipregiiable   town  m   the  mountains  of  Transylvania    .a  riso  " 
^a   a^e  R.ee  of  "Turks,  Tartars,  Bandittoes,^iennega:::^^ 
uh    ,k  .       J  ,e  ,vork  of  making  trenches  and  batteries  went  on 
ut  slow  y,  and  the  Turks,  jeering  at  their  enemies,  would  "L  i 
heir  artillery  was  in  pawn,  and  complain  that  they  were  growin.  ftt 

that";  1  ;rr'r-  t^,"""-^  ^'^'^'^^^"*'^  ^-^---^  ^-^  ^^^^^ 

"'•  t  to  delight  the  Ladies,  who  did  long  to  see  some  court-like 
pasuine,  the  Lord  Tnsbashaw  di<l  defie  any  captain  that  had  the  cot 
numd  of  a  company  that  durst  combate  with  him  for  his  ITead  " 
So  n, any  of  the  Christian  oflleers  were  eager  to  undertake  t^..  duel 
It  e  mat  or  was  deeded  by  lot,  and  the  peril  and  honour  of  the 
alventure  fell  to  our  young  friend  Smith.  At  a  ,Wven  signal  the 
adversanos,  ,n  full  view  of  both  armies-" the  Rampi.-rs  all  beset 
w.th  faire  Dames  "-tilted  against  each  other  with  ecp,al   course 


40 


THE   I'KOl'LE'S   BOOK    OF   IIISTOKY. 


aiul  fury,  but  with  better  advantage  to  tlie  Cliiistian,  who  ran  his 
eiieiny  through  hehuet  and  brain,  and  nimbly  alighting,  cut  off  hia 
head,  which  he  presented  to  the  Prince  General. 

One  Grualgro,  "th(!  vowed  friend"  of  the  fallen  chif-f,  resolved  to 
avenge  his  full  or  share  his  fate;  and  a  second  encounter,  the  next 
dav,  came  oil',  with  equal  success  to  Smith,  who  uidiorscd  his  enemy 
and  speedily  possessed  himself  of  his  head.     Unsatisfied  with  his 
unusual  good  fortune  and  renown,  the  young  champion,  in  turn, 
sent  a  courteous  message  that  the  ladies  might  have  the  heads  of 
tlicir   two  .servants,  and  his  own  besides,  if  any  Turk  of  proper 
degree  would  come  and  take  them.     This  audacious  challenge,  ac- 
cepted by  one  PMiinij  M'uhjro,  had  nearly  proved  the  death  of  our 
hero,  wdio,  by  a  blow  of  hi.s  ojiponent's  battle-axe,  lost  his  own  and 
was  nearly  unhorsed.      The  Turks  set  up  a  tremendous  shout  of 
applause  from  the  ramparts,  yet  Smith,  to  use  his  own  language, 
"what  by  the  readines.se  of  his  horse,  and  his  judgment  and  dexter- 
it  ie  in  such  a  businesse,  beyond  all   men's  exjiectation,  by  God's 
assistance,  not  onely  avoided  the  Turlc(:''ti  violence,  but  having  drawne 
his  l'\uilchcon,  pierced  the  7'iirkc  so  under  the  Culets,  thorow  backe 
and  hody,  that,  although  he  alighted  from  his  horse,  hee  stood  not 
long  ere'^hee  lost  his  head,  as  the  rest  had  done."     Great  rejoicing 
took  place  in  the  Christian  army,  and  Smith  was  complimented  and 
exalted  to  the  skies.     The  town,  after  a  desperate  defence,  was  taken 
bv  stcn-m,  and  the  Turl<s  entrenched  themselves  in  the  castle.     "The 
hiarle,  remembering  his  father's  death,  battered  it  with  all  tlio  ord- 
nance in  the  towne,  and  the  next  day  took  it;  all  he  found  could 
bear  Amies  he  put  to  the  sword,  and  set  their  heads  upon  stakes 
round  about  the  walls,  ns  they  had  used  the  Christians  when  thev 
tooke  it."     This  was  certainly  rather  an  indifferent  school  for  the 
cultivation  of  humanity  or  refinement;  yet  Smith  seems  never  to 
have  become  infected  with  the  cruelty  of  the  age,  or  to  have  cn- 
o.it;.:vd  in  these  sanguinary  scenes  with  any  motive  beyond  that  of 
tlie  renown  to  be  acquired  by  gallant  deeds  of  arms,  and  the  idea,  in 
his  day  not  altogether  groundless,  that  a  blow  struck  in  behalf  of 
Christendom    against   the   invading   ranks  of  tlie   irdldeLs,  was  a 
meritorious  work. 

Sigismund  of  Transylvania,  on  repairing  to  the  army,  was  so 
pleased  with  this  last  exidoit  of  the  young  soldier,  tliat  "with  great 
honour  h.'  gave  him  thre.'  '/»/•/•'.'  Heads  in  a  Shicdd  n)r  his  Annes, 
Iv  );i1-nt   tiMder  his  hand  ami  scab',  with  an  oathe  ever  to  weare 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   VIRGIN, A.  ^^ 

tl>em  in  l,is  Colours,  his  picture  i„  Gould,  and  three  hundred  Dneuts 
\ cere  V  for  n    iKuiaii-in  "      fin  •  »»"'"uii.ii  i/iiCiiis 

\LUU.IV     nil       ,1      IHnihlOn.  I    Ills     Tintpilt    \>rna      ^.O.  1 

Portuiie  fiuiilly  turned  jurnin^f  ♦],„  n7  ■  ^-  , 

almost  entirely  cut  to  p  eces.     "In  this  hlr„„1,.  fl  1 1  "         """'-^8,  \\as 

h.  n.  n,  fightu.g  for  re^o^vn,  who  all  "did  what  men  could  doc 

,e,.tlen.an)  -'among  the  slaughtered  dead^^Slf^u^r;;;?.:^!! 
.ng  soule,  w.th  tode  and  wounds  lay  groaning  among  ZZI'    ' 
Captured  and  cukkI  of  his  wounds,  he  was%old  M  ma    "  more 
a.      lave  at  Axa^.ohs;  and  his  purchaser,  a  certain  Bashaw   3o      ] 

-  nn  on  to  Constantinople  as  a  present  to  his  youn "mist;:    ' 

-  h  the  assurance  that  he  was  a  Bohemian  lord,  the  trc^^hy  of  is 
rensonn  prowess.  The  lady,  like  „K>st  whou.  the  gallant  c.ut  in 
cneonnterecUtonce  experienced  a  tender  interest  fo    h     JdC 

.^  il^t ': '""^' '] ''''  "^*  °''  ''^  ^-'i'^-.  ^^'^i-d^dt ; 

^'  1  rtzT...  ■"":;"'""'  *"  ^'^^  ^""^'-"•'  ^1>«  Bashaw  o 

L.;     vm'  ?  "'";  "^'  ''''  "^  ^™f-     This  kindly  ma,icx3uvre 

owever,  served  him  nothing;  for  the  ferocious  Turk  iorel  ^n^li  ,^ 

"I'n.     \\  ith  his  head  and  beard  shaved  "so  bare  as  his  h.,n.l  "  n 
gr.U  U.U  ring  rivetted  about  his  neelc,  and  a  ro^^  '  r      u   o    ni 
nnd  liKkythe  unfortunate  Smith  underwent  a  shven    " 
<1'«  could  hardly  have  lived  to  endure ''oL'.'     u       "''  "" 

J^asliaw,  as  he  used  often  to  visit  his  .rran-es  vi  ft   1  , 

''"^-  "lUK.      ]<or  some  days  he  wandered  in  the  wilderness 

'    nr.i-iii    tl...    l.;...i.    _    .  i    ,.  ...  ' 


but  finally, 


i'g!=ting  upon  the  high  road  ti'om  Tartary  to  llussia, 


;#' 


42 


TllK  TKOTLK'S   BOOK   OF   lUSTOKY, 


made  liis  way,  after  a  journey  of  sixteen  Jays,  to  Ecopolis,  a  Russian 
post  ou  the  Don.  Here  lie  was  kindly  received,  and  on  his  return 
to  Transylvania,  "glutted  with  content  and  neere  drowned  with  joy," 
great  rejoicing  took  place  at  his  escape  and  the  manner  of  it,  both 
so  characteristic  of  his  temper.  At  Prague,  wliither  he  repaired, 
Sigismund  presented  him  with  fifteen  hundred  ducats,  equipped  with 
which  he  travelled  through  Germany,  Fi'ance,  and  Spain,  viewing 
notable  places  and  adding  to  his  extensive  information.  In  a  French 
ship  he  sailed  to  Africa,  meaning  to  take  part  in  the  civil  wars  in 
Morocco;  "but  by  reason  of  the  uncertaintie,  and  the  perfidious, 
ti-eacherous,  bloudy  murthers  rather  than  warre,  among  tliose  per- 
fidious, barbarous  Moored,'"  changed  his  purpose.  Passing  an  evening 
aboard  the  ship,  a  gale  of  wind  compelled  her  to  run  to  sea,  and  the 
captain's  taste  for  adventure  was  presently  gratified  by  "a  brave  sea- 
fight,"  'lasting  for  two  days,  with  a  couple  of  Spanish  men-of-war. 
They  were  finally  beaten  off,  with  a  loss,  it  was  supposed,  of  a  hun- 
dred men.  In  an  action  so  desperate,  the  services  of  Smith,  it  may 
well  be  supposed,  were  not  without  an  opportunity  for  their  full 
appreciation.     Not  long  after  (1604)  he  returned  to  England. 


VIRGINIAN  COLONIZATION  REVIVED.  —  PATENT  OF  JAMES  I. — ILL- 
ASSORTED  COMPANY  OF  SETTLERS. — THE  EXPEDITION  SAIL^  FOR 
AMERItA.  —  ACCIDENTALLY    ENTERS   JAMES    RIVER.  —  ILL 
TREATMENT  OF  SMITH, — INTERCOURSE  WITH  THE  INDIANS. 

JAMESTOAVN   FOUNDED. — EXCURSION   OP   SMITH   AND 

NEWPORT. — POWHATAN. — THE  INDIANS  OF  VIRGINIA. 


Soox  after  the  return  of  Smith,  he  became  acquainted  with  Captain 
Gosncjld,  whose  voyage  has  already  been  mentioned;  and  the  sclicmo 
of  Virginian  colonization  was  again  revived.  Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges, 
Sir  John  Popham,  chief  ju.stice  of  England,  and  other  persons  of 
rank  and  influence,  were  persuaded  to  take  an  interest  in  their  plan; 
and  thus  in  April,  IHOO,  the  king  (James  1.)  was  induced  to  issue 
letters  jiatent  to  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  Sir  George  Somers  and  others, 
granting  them  all  the  territory  on  the  eastern  sea-board  of  North 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  VIRGINIA. 


43 


Anv  r,oa,  bctuecu  tlurty-four  and  forty-five  dogrees  nortl.  latitude, 
wo  con,pa..e.  one  of  Londoners  and  the  other  of  gentlemen 
.  c„  fro.  the  A7est  of  England,  were  forn.ed.  the  first  t^'  e  en  e 
the  southern  and  the  latter  ,he  northern  portion  of  the  o,,nf  1  n t 
w,th  a  stnet  proviso,  dictated  by  the  foolish  jealousy  of  .hunes'  thu 
a  hundred  nules  of  wilderness  should  intervene  between  1  Jrr- 
speotive  settlements.  As  the  first  of  these  only  sueeeeded  in  their 
des,gn  our  aeeount  wdl  be  restricted  ehiefly  to  their  operations. 

Out  e  19th  of  December,  1«06,  three  small  vessels  commanded 
hy  Captam  Chnsopher  Newport,  and  carrying  an  hundred  and  five 
colo msts.  saded  from  Blaekwall  for  Virginia.  Forty-eight  of  this 
n«n>her  were  enrolled  as  gentlemen,  and  twelve  as  labourers-an 
onunous  proportion  for  the  prosperity  of  the  projected  settle- 
ment. Gosnold  and  Smuh,  Edward  WingHeld,  a  rnerchant,  George 
Percy,  and  the  Eev.  Kobert  Hunt,  were  the  principal  persoz  s  of  the 
expedition.  '■         r     i  w  tuo 

Delayed  by  contrary  winds,  the  little  fleet,  bearing  the  germ  of  the 
A-nencan  commonwealth,  was  six  weeks  in  sight  of  England;  and 
when  It  foially  got  to  sea  took  the  old  circuitous  route  o?  the  fcana- 
nes  and  West     ndies.     By  the  folly  of  Jame.s,  sealed  instruction!, 
m  a  box  not  to  be  opened  till  their  arrival,  had  been  provided  nam 
ing  he  authont.es  of  the  colony.     Dissension  thus  sprung  up  eaX 
;n    he  voyage,  and  at  the  Ca-aries,  Smith,  accused,  by  the  absurd 
jealousy  of  some,  of  conspiring  to  make  himself  "  kin-  of  Vir<ri„i,  » 
was  put  in  confinement.     They  steered  for  ]ioanoke,1.ut  by  :pi;;e 
o    excellent  disappointment,  were  carried  by  a  stoi'-m  past   he  place 
of      eir  destination,  and  entered   Chesapeake  Bay.    '^.rniu^  the 
oadlands  Cape  lUmry  and  Cape  Charles,  in  honour  of  the  king's  sons 
h  y  sailed  up  the  James  Kiver  about  forty  miles,  and  went  o^  shore' 
lehghted  with  all  they  sa.v.    "  We  p.ssed  through  excellent  ground  " 
ays  one  o     them,    'full  of  flowers  of  divers  kinds  and  cokmrs,  and 

eu       l^r     [  "' '"r  ''  '  '"'"  '''''  ^'^"•■--^'  ^•'"  "f  ^i" 
01  Fngl  uid.         Heaven  and  earth,"  says    tlie  enthusiastic  Smith 

.eemed  never  to  have  agreed  better  to  frame  a  place  for  maS 
commodious  and  delightful  habitation." 

The  very  day  of  their  arrival,  the  settlers  perceived  certain  hostile 
savages,  "creeping  on  all  foures,  from  the  hils  like  Beares,"  b  I 
put  them  to  flight  by  a  discharge  of  muskets.     At  Point  Comfo 


44 


TlIK   rJiOPLE'S    BOOK   OF   IIISTOKY. 


however,  and  other  phiees,  they  were  kindly  received  by  the  natives, 
who  gave  theni  corn-broad,  pipes  and  tobacco,  and  held  a  dance  in 
honour  of  tliern.  The  chief  of  the  Eai)pahannas,  who,  with  a  cun- 
siderable  attendance,  came  to  meet  them,  "entertained  us,"  says  the 
journal,  "in  so  modest  a  proud  fashion,  as  though  he  had  been  a 
prince  of  civill  government,  holding  his  countenance  without  aiiv 
laughter  or  any  such  ill  behaviour,  lie  caused  his  mat  to  be  spreu'a 
on  the  ground,  where  he  sat  down  with  great  majesty,  taking  a  pipo 
of  tobacco,  the  rest  of  his  company  standing  around  him." 

Having  made  considerable  survey  of  the  shores  of  tlie  river,  tlio 
little  colony  of  Englishmen  chose  for  the  site  of  their  settlement  a 
peninsula  on  the  northern  bank,  and  called  it  Jamestt)wn,  in  honour 
of  the  sovereign.  It  was  now  an  hundred  and  nine  years  sinco 
Cabot,  sailing  by  these  shores,  had  conferred  on  England  the  con- 
ventional right  to  so  great  a  part  of  the  North  American  continent: 
yet  this  was  the  first  successful  attempt  of  that  nation  to  plant  ii 
colony  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  That  it  did  not  speedily  share 
the  fate  of  its  predecessors,  is  almost  entirely  due  to  the  adniirahlu 
courage,  sagacity,  and  patience  of  a  man  greatly  wronged  and  abused, 
in  its  very  inception. 

On  opening  the  sealed  box,  it  was  found  that  a  council  of  seven, 
including  Wingfield,  Gosnold,  Newpoit,  and  Smith,  were  appointal 
to  govern  the  colony;  but  the  last,  the  only  reliable  man  of  tlio 
whole  company,  by  the  paltry  jealousy  of  his  associates,  was  sut 
aside;  "the  Councell  was  sworne,  Mr.  Wlmjfield  was  chosen  Presi- 
dent, and  an  Oration  made,  why  Captaine  Smith  was  not  admitted 
of  the  Councell  as  the  rest."  Ilis  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  the 
scheme  unquenched  by  this  unworthy  treatment,  the  excluded  coun- 
cillor set  forth  with  Newport  on  an  expedition  of  farther  survey. 

In  the  course  of  this  voyage,  much  was  learned  concerning  the 
Indians  of  the  adjoining  regions.  Of  forty-three  native  tribes,  cFwell- 
ing  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea,  about  thirty,  numbering,  it 
is  said,  eight  thousand  souls,  were  under  the  rule  of  a  powerful  chief- 
tain, named  Wahunsonacock,  but  whoso  customary  title,  derived, 
like  that  of  a  European  grandee,  from  his  principal  residence,  was 
Powhatan.  The  names  of  Tusivaloosa,  Quigaltampii,  and  those  of 
many  other  native  American  chiefs,  identical  with  their  towns  or 
principalities,  indicate  the  prevalence  of  the  usage.  Ilis  residence 
of  I'owhatan  was  at  the  Falls  of  James  River,  at  the  site  of  Rich- 
mond, and  that  of  Werowocomoco  on  the  north  side  of  York  Eiver. 


THE    SKTTLKMKNT    OF    VIKGKNIA.  4,- 

Ascending  the  first  named  stream,  after  a  voyage  of  six  days,  tlio 
cxp  orers  came  to  the  falls,  where  they  were  courteously  received 
by  the  great  elucf  just  mentioned-"of  personage,"  says  Smith,  "a 
t.ll,  well  proportioned  man,  with  a  sower  looke,  his  head  some  what 
gr:,y,  Ins  beard  so  thinne  it  seemeth  none  at  all,  his  age  necre  sixtie- 
ol  11  very  able  and  hardy  body  to  endure  any  labor.      *     *     *     U 
i.<  strangv,"  lie  presently  proceeds,  "to  see  with  what  great  feare  and 
ailoratiun  all  these  people  doe  obey  this  Powhatan.     For  at  his  feete 
they  present  whatsoever  he  commandeth,  and  at  the  least  frowne  of 
Ins  brow,  their  greatest  spirits  will  tremble  with  feare;  and  no  mar- 
vdl,  fur  he  is  very  tyrannous  and  terrible"  in  punishing  such  as 
olk'..d  hun.     *     *     Yet  whe.i  he  listeth,  his  will  is  a  law  and  must 
be  obeyed;  not  onely  as  a  king,  but  halfe  as  a  God  they  esteeme  him." 
llie  Indians  of  Virginia,  dwelling  in  a  milder  dime,  and  on  a 
more  lertile  soil,  seem  to  have  possessed  more  of  the  comforts  of  life 
than  tliose  of  New  England.     They  lived  by  the  chase,  by  lishino- 
and,  to  a  considciable  extent,  by  plantation.     Their  clothin-  was  of 
fuis,  but  they  were  very  hardy  and  able  to  endure  cold?    Their 
children,  from  infancy,  they  used  Jo  wash  in  the  rivers,  "and  by 
).=antings  and  ointn.ents  so  tanne  their  skinnes,  that  after  a  yeare  or 
tuo  no  weather  will  hurte  them."     The  customary  passion  of  sav- 
ages for  personal  picturing,  seems,  indeed,  to  have  had  full  sway 
the  favourite  colour  being  red.     "Many  other  formes  of  paintim) 
they  use    but  he  is  the  most  gallant  that  is  the  most  monstroul 
to  behold. ' 

They  were  a  warlike  people,  and  were  often  engaged  in  feud  with 
heir  neighbours.     Smith  gives  a  fcurious  account  of  a  great  sham- 
.gli  ,  w  nch  lowhatan's  warriors,  at  Mattapanient,  once  performed 
for  his  diversion.     Two  parties,  each  of  a  hundred,  approached  each 
other  ni  warlike  array,  "all  duly  keeping  their  orders,  yet  leapinc. 
and  smging  after  their   accustomed  tune,  which  they  only  vse  in 
^  arres.     "V  pon  the  lirst  flight  of  arrowes,  they  gave  such  horrible 
shouts  and  schreeclies,  as  so  many  infernall  hell-hounds  could  not 
nive  made  them  more  terrible.    When  they  had  spent  their  arrowes, 
tliey  joyned  together  prettily,  charging  and  retiring,  every  ranke 
seconding  the  other.     As  they  got  advantage,  thev  catelied  their 
eiiennes  by  the  hayre  of  the  head,  and  down  came  he" that  was  taken 
Ills  enemy  with  his  wooden  sword  seemed  to  beate  out  his  braines 
and  still  they  crept  to  the  rear  to  maintain  the  skirmish.     *     *     * 
All  their  actions,  voyces,  and  gestures,  both  in  charging  and  retirin<r 


;J  ■  I 


J 


46 


TlIK    P  KOl'l.K'S    liooK    OK    lllsTOIIV. 


wore  so  Strained  to  the  lieiglit  of  tlu'ii'  iiualitic!  mid  nature,  lliut  the 
strangeness  thereof  made  it  seemo  very  delightfidl." 

Little  that  is  delinitc  seems  to  liave  been  aseertuiuod  concorniii" 
their  religious  belief — the  uneouth  eereinonies  of  the  J'owwow,  and 
the  manifestations  of  a  savage  taste  being  direetly  eonstrued  into 
an   explieit  Satanism.     "Their  chief  God   they  worship,"  says  the 
eajjtain,  "is  the  Devill.     Ilini  they  call  Oki-e,  and  serve  him  more  of 
feare  than  love.     They  say  they  have  eonferreneo  with  him,  and 
fashion   themselves  as  neare  to  his  shape  as  they  can  imagine.     In 
their  Temples  they  have  his  inuige  evill-favoredly  carved,  in  such 
manner  as  the  deformitio  may  well  suit  with  such  a  God.     *    * 
Upon  the  top  of  certain  red  .sandy  hils  in  the  woodes,  there  are  three 
great  houses  fdled  with  linages  of  their  Kinges  and  Devills,  and 
Tombes  of  their  })redecessois.     This  place  they  count  so  holy  as 
none  but  the  Priests  and  Kings  dare  come  into  thein."     Tlieir  reli- 
gious ceremonies  were  sufficiently  fantastic  and  barbarous.    Tlieir 
chief  priest,  horrid  in  a  head-dress  of  the  skins  of  snakes  and  other 
rei)tiles,  made  invocations  before  the  circle  of  worshippers  "with 
broken  sentences,  by  starts  and  strange  passions,  and  at  every  pause 
the  rest  give  a  short  groane" — probably  the  Indian  "ugh,"  denotiiii» 
assent.     "And  in  this  lamentable  ignorance,"  he  continues,  "doc 
these  poore  Soules  sacrifice  themselves  to  the  Devill,  not  knowing 
their  Creator;  and  we  had  not  language  sufficient,  .so  jilainly  to  ex- 
press it  as  to  make  them  understand  it,  which  God  grant  they  niav." 


u  Ai  lil  oT  i,  ill  lU    i  J,  i,  o 

Tlil.M,   AND   VINDICATION   OF   SMITH. — FAMINE   AND   TERRIliLK 
MORTALITY.  —  SMITH,    H  Y    HIS    EXERTIONS,   SUPPORTS  THE 

COLONY. TREACHERY   OP    HIS   ASSOCIATES.  —  DEALINGS 

WITH  THE  INDIANS.  —  IDLE  AND  MISERABLE  COLONISTS. 


iil 


"While  the  party  of  s-irvcy  was  absent,  an  attack  had  been  made 
by  the  Indians  on  the  colonist.s,  one  of  whom  was  killed,  and  many 
othei's  were  wounded,  and  Jamestown  was  therefore  fortified  with 
palisades  and  artillery.  Captain  Smith,  on  his  return,  to  silence  the 
slanders  of  his  enemies,  demanded  a  public  trial;  in  which  his  inno- 


alure,  tliut  the 


iiitiimes,  "doo 


ND   TERRIDLK 

PPORTS   THE 

■DKAMNOS 

)LONISTS. 

ad  been  made 

!ed,  and  many 

fortified  with 

to  silence  the 

^hich  liis  iniio- 

C.IPT.I  I.V    JO  „,y    uMirir. 

THE       POUNDER      OP       V.RoiN.A. 

BOKN  AT  W„.U.UOHBV.  UKCOLNSH.R..  I^;    UNDKD  ,X  V,KC,XU.  ,«.;  OCED  ,«. 


It 


i>l 


brc 


Tilt:    S  K  T  T /.  K  M 


K  i\  T    (>  J.'    \  I 


J;<iIXM. 


47 


cence  ami  the  malice  of  his  .Ictractcrs  was  so  nppurct  th.f  ho 
restored  to  his  seat  in  the  Council  anrl  WJ.  .'7""^'  "''^^  ^«  ^aw 
,.,hin.  da,nagos  in  goods  ^^  ^l7^  T  {V'  ''' 
which,  however,  Snuth  put  into  the  "  re  housefor   l!!:   1  r^'^' 

On  the  lolh  of  June,  Newport  with  tV  '  1  ^"^^"^  "««• 

land.     His  departure    vns  t   ?  si  "      for  T  V";"'  ^^  ^""■ 

pr.^ion.  The  eo.pan,,  with^^i^  z;:::^:^jrz  :f 

tunato  settlors  had  been  recluced  tJ  \  '^""^'  "^  '^'''  ""^^■- 

applicants  "for  saxefras,  furres,  or  lole."     A  re:    ,      fat   "  'T''' 
■s^'t  i..,  a  daily  pint  of  wheat  o    barley  all  nliv.        v  "'  °"'" 

the  cnly  allowance.     "Had  we  btn  .    ff    -  '"''"'''  ^^'"^? 

-r-'.  "1'  «i.-s  as  gluttony  Z  dr^n ll^Vll-l  "^  ^1'-^' 
canoiiizod  as  saints;  but  onr  T>r,.«u1 ,  .         1  j  °      ""^"'  ^^^'^ 

««!;■,  Kgg«,  and  „l.„.  „„.  ,,„.  ,^,  Kettel  '  T     ■°''^' ^'7*. 
KB  water,  our  l„.lgi„ge.  Castles  in  the  Ayre  " 

.g.™va.e„  b,  privation  a,,;::;:l'."'  ;: tj^  ;'™'"  »f 

and  treacherous  nolicv  atternntorl  tn  ..         ;?'"'"'' ^^'^'^  »  cowardly 

4e  «t,c,„™,,  ..i„ii;.C£  t :  M ::  rr'r """  '^" 

faj  Spirits  as  ...  clc,,„sc:i  l,i„."     w^  ,,  ^h    "''.inr  "T.     °"' 

«M;.»n.. ,,  t,/o!,,„aistf.^;;:  rott-ir^rrars'''" 

ili»  co„„„,l  was  ao>v  rdaoed  to  tltrco,  consist!,  .r  of  E.^liff'   ,1 

J«'te«-t  i„  daagers  and  lesse  indus.r^  in  n  L"  sh   Si  .      "T    ' 

ni:uiiitr|.,m.„j  . ,  1  -  ,  j-     »  fjuicc,    snutetl  tlie  entire 

«i.lc.     Tl      .  :         ,        °"'"°^  °"  "'"  "'x'"'''™  »f  fteir  sturdy 
Witl      egl  r^r  .""  ""''"■>' ^'™"S  --Kl.  .0  boar  if 

'■l^lnso;,    „,?'",'''""'/''''  *■=''»'•  "S»in»'  tl,o  winter. 

•«  m,„,  oti'ttri  ;,!;:,;'';''*■  '■"'"  'r  '''"■"''•^-  '■=  ->  »- 

ll*k,  alwayos  tea  il  ,1  ''°'"°  *"  """'''   '"""'''  °""="  '» 

.ki/uia^yt^ne  :=„  jjrrof':'"  f ,'"  -^-^  ^''"'°'  - 

'viutu  most  of  them  lodgings,  n^Qleding  «,;y 


It  ja 


I 


Ill  il 


iMt 


1 


49 


'IMI  K   !■  Kori.K'rt    HoiiU    OK    IMSl'oUY. 


/;„•  hinrsrlfir     'I'l.is   lnl»mr  Mrcninplisli.Ml,  mul  t,lu<  pt'oplo  l)i';,'imiin^; 
lo  HiilVor  i.Kaiii  IVom  wuiit  nf  fon.l,  l.n  -rl,  lorM.  in  u  l«mt,  will.  Ilvo 

.Thix  uth.Ts,  to  K'li"  ■'^'M'l'l'''''  *•>  "'"'^""■'  ^^''''  ^'"'  """■'■  '''""'"*■  '"• 
.liai.s.  Tlu"  l;iU.T,  liow.'vor,  with  nido  iiihoMpilulity,  "Hconir.l  hin  ," 
ho  ^.,'_vH  "as  ii  lamish.Ml  unu,  anil  would  in  .Irrimoii  oIV.t  him  ;i 
Inu.irnll  of  rorn.-,  a  jmhvo  oC  hiva.l,  for  tiu'ir  Hwonls  iin.l  nuisi<,.|s, 
and  s.u-li  lil<.>  i.n.|.o.lionM  also  Tor  ih.-ir  appaivll."  Th.>s.^  uncivil 
lam.iM  Inon-lu  on  hostilili.'H,  anl  tin-  <-:.l.tnin,  in  a  ^kinni.sh,  ^ot 
possession  ol  Ihrir  0/,.r  or  ^o.!,  lo  ransom  wlurli,  tlu'.y  wm,  liu,,  i,, 
loud  tin-  Kn-hsh  boat  will.  I'K'nt.V  oC  c-orn,  Inrkoys,  and  v.-nisnii. 
Smith,  in  ivtnr..,  K^'vo  Uumu  l.rads,  .•oppor,  and  hatehcts,  und  u 
IViiMulsliip  was  stiiu'k  up  Willi  that  rnrious  snddcunoss  whu^li  nmm 
alike  to  distinguish  mivugo  oiiinity  or  mnity. 

In  Hpito  of  Smith's   unwi<ariod  ox.«rtions,  to  supply  tho  settlors 

with   lood,  \vo  iir>«  t..ld,  "v.'l  what  ho  oardiilly  pn.vidnl,  llio  rest 

nvivlosly  spent.  *         *  *         'I'l'"   ^l""'"^'''!    '"'V^r  luoro 

LMVodily  (U'sirod  gold  th.m  ho  viotuull,  nor  his  Souldiors  nioro  to 

abatidou  tho  oouutry  than  ho  to  koopo  it."     Of  tho  iU-assorto.l  mm- 

pauy    h.>  says,  thon?  woro  "n.any  moofoly  projoctmg,  v.-rluU  mid 

i.lk,  contomplat,>i-s,  and   thoso   so  dovoto.l  to   puro   idlenosso,  that 

though  thoy  had  lived  in  Virginia  two  or  thioo  yoars,  lordly,  noccs- 

Bitio  itsolfo  oouhl  not  compel!  thou,  to  i^asso  tho   I'eumsula  or  the 

Palisadoos  of  /anirs  Towne.         *         *         Our  ingenious  Verh.lists 

wore  no  lesso  plague  to  us  iu  Virginia  than  tho  Loousts  to  tho  K.'yp- 

tiuns."     Because  tliey  did  not  tind  Taverns  an.l   Alelmnses  at  overy 

turn  ho  says,  nor  feather  beds  and  down  pillow^,  tlioy  thoii;.lit  of 

-   noth'in.r  but  ju-esent  comfort  an.l  speedy  relum.     Wiiiglioia  lui.l 

others  "seized  the   pinnaee,  and  would   have   lied  to  Mughuul,  Imt 

Smith  by  force  of  arms  comi)elled  them  to  remain,  and  one  of  the 

malcontents  was  killed  in  tho  attempt. 


'MConiru  lllli 


KXrKMITlOV  AM)  rAI'TI'KI.'  r.  i^  o  i.  ■ 

-.u^.:::::::;.;',;;f:;,:■■:,;;;-'""■  , 
.;;;::;;:3';:i;::;::;'::;:;:!;::7;:^'i'':'^"«f''."u«,,„ .„ 

Jliivillg    left    Ili.S    CiK,,,,.      ivitl,    f„. 

«troa,n,  L  struck  clI'  1.      '  ,  ^^  -'-'Par.,o„H,  on  tho  hank  of  . 

'"^'''^''' •'"^^'•' <■'•<'  'iv.w  w.  a,  ..,,'■'  '""•/,.',  wind.  I,o  l.a.i  l.a 
under  (),H.<.l,an.uu.ud;  I      ,  „     >  ''  "r^'^'  ''"'^^^  "^  ^'"•'•-'-. 

was  barbarouHly  put  to  d.-uthrr      ^  '^' '*^       '''''''' ''^"'''''' 

'"""'■■•"I  «tn.n.  oa,no  un  wit     S  iu*      I  T-     'n-^'''"'"  ^"^««'  *^« 

bcrore  lun,  as  a  .hioM  a!  J      th        '  •        1  '     '''"'"'"  '"'^  ^"-'« 
eiual  coohuxs  an.I  d.sn.^at"  o      m7.        "^'""  '^"«''^  "'^f' 

■^'>'-">nhecl  with  oolJ   t    ,t  '  ''";  "'^'  ^'''  '"  ''  '""^'''•'^«.  ^''•«--' 

compass,  sot  in  i";    ,  C  , T,'   "''""",-  '"'  P^'"'"'  ^'-^'>  ^^  'i"'« 
S"'itl.,taki„.advanta.oo    f  .  '    /'  ''"°^'  "^  ^^"'""J«;  '"i"^^ 

^^'■^''  P''i'"4hy  iK    tu.u  io!   r'r""''  '^^'''^"  ''"^''-■'^'  ^«  --1^-^' 

own  words,  "who     he  d  ?       ^  r'"''^"  ''^"^''''^'■«-"     ^'<^  "««  I'i^ 

<-^'th    and   Hkios,   the  sphcare  of  tho   Sunne, 


THE  I'KOTLK'S   JJOOK   OF   IIISTOKY.    . 

Moone,  and  Starres,  and  how  the  Sunne  did  chase  the  night  round 
about  the  world  continually;  the  greatiicsse  of  the  Sea  and  Lund, 
the  diversitie  of  Nations,  varietie  of  complexions,  and  how  we  were 
to  them  Antipodes,  and  many  such-like  matters,  they  stood  as  all 
amazed  with  admiration." 

Having  tried  his  nerve  by  tying  him  to  a  tree,  and  all  muKiiig 
ready  to  shoot  at  him,  they  led  him  in  triumph  to  Orapaks,  a  town 
a  few  miles  from  Powhatan,  where  a  hideous  war-dance  was  per- 
formed about  him,  and  where,  from  the  overweening  hospitality  of 
his  hosts,  he  began  to  fear  that  he  was  to  be  fattened  for  sacriflcc. 
Fully  ap[)reciating  liis  valour,  they  made  him  groat  offei's  if  he  wouU 
assist  them  in  an  intended  attack  on  Jamestown ;  but  Smith,  having 
written  a  note  to  his  friends,  warning  them  of  the  danger,  and  de- 
siring certain  articles,  persuaded  the  Indians  to  take  it  thither,  and 
leave  it  in  sight  of  the  colonists.  To  their  utter  amazement,  they 
found  in  the  same  spot,  on  tl'.e  following  day,  the  very  articles  that 
Smith  had  promised  them,  and  all,  in  }yoiider,  concluded,  "that 
c?itlicr  he  conlde  divine  or  the  paper  could  speake." 

He  was  next  taken  to  Pamunkcy,  where  such  strange  and  fantas- 
tical conjurations  were  enacted  over  him,  that  he  felt,  he  says,  as  if 
translated  to  the  infernal  regions.  This  mystical  ceremony  lasted 
for  three  days;  after  which,  the  tribe  entertained  him  with  much 
kindness.  They  had  procured  a  bag  of  gunpowder,  which  they 
were  carefully  keeping  to  plant  tlie  next  spring,  su[)posing  it  to  be 
a  s[)ecies  of  seed.  At  last  he  was  taken  to  Werowocotnoeo,  where 
TowlKitan,  "with  more  than  two  hundred  of  his  grim  courtiers, 
dressed  in  their  greatest  braveries,"  was  awaiting  hiin.  As  he 
entered,  the  whole  court  rose,  in  respect  for  their  valiant  ciptive, 
and  '>-ave  a  <i"reat  shout.  lie  was  served  in  the  most  honourable  mail- 
er, the  Indian  queen  of  Appamatuek  waiting  on  him  in  person, 
What  followed  cannot  be  better  given  than  in  his  own  langua.uo  or 
that  of  sofiic  one  who  heard  it  from  his  own  lips.  "Having  feasted 
iiim  in  tlie  best  barbarous  manner  they  could,  a  long  consultation 
was  held;  but  the  conclusion  was,  two  great  stones  were  brought 
before  I\iwhut<nt\  then  as  many  as  could  layd  hands  on  liim,  dragged 
him  to  them,  and  thereon  layd  his  head,  and  being  ready  with  tlieir 
clubs  tobeatc  out  hisbraines,  Pocahontas,  the  King's  dearest  daughter, 
v;lien  w>  iiitreuty  could  j)rovaile,  got  his  liead  in  lu'r  arms,  and  layd 
her  owne  upon  his  to  save  hiiii  from  death;  whereat  the  Emperour 
was  contented  he  should  live." 


5  were  broiiglit 
311  liim,  (Inm'i'L'd 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF   VIRGINIA 

Ol 

Anl:^luXziz::i  "V"''^"*™^^^^^*^-^^--'i  touching. 

After  tlL  lapse  of  more  than  two  centuries,  familiarized  but  unhnek 
>.eyed  by  repet.fon,  it  still  remains  the  most  charmi„rnn  1 

.norcuver,  is  of  ..eat  inLr  f  one     ''  ."^^^'^^'^  ^---tion, 
incidents  where  the  feelinJ-md  1  t'^O'^e  comparatively  rare 

I'i^'-'-'-'I'ortanerTSt^     rZ      ""11^^^ 

colony,  and  have  made  their  way  homeu-ard  with  nil       P™  .""'"S  the 

The  <rcnerositv  of  fl^n  »v,-  .'■>^,"°™^''^™  ^^'t'l  all  practicable  speed. 

n    ,c.  e.ositj  of  the  chief  did  not  stop  halfway.     Tiie  re  euso 

'>t  Ins  c.iptive  was  rose  vod  on    -..-,,1,.  ■  -^  "^  r^-'^-iso 

I  "'^^'^^  o") '^nd  was  commun  cated  in  o  f.,vK;,.n 

cliMiactenstic  enon-di      "IVvo  r1..,.  „     r.     »,    ""'^''i<-u  "i  a  tashiou 

l.«  coukl,  caused  Capt.  S™,V;,  ,o  be  bmu.    t  Z     ,  '""""" 

(ar,„ll,<T  cvjicriniont  oa  his  ncrvesl      "fj,,,  1  "       7     t  '° 

.  .a.  ...a.  divide,,  «,.  l^ouserrLdo^'^o'  l:  uX  t-t 

lie  ever  heard;  then  Potvhatan,  more  like  i  d<nill  ,,     ''"'""'^  "^^f 
.'onio  two  hundred  more  a.  bl  icke  ns      mse  f  '  T'  '"'^'^ 

told  hin,  now  they  were  frie  d     nn  1  '^""''^V'T'  ""'°  '^""  ^^"'^ 
rronr.sTo^vn,  to  send  h  m  tT     '  T    ^'"''"'"'^  ^^^^  ^''«"'^  S'^^   ^o 

which  he  wc^i^^rr^ht^  :,:^:t'Tp"  r'  ^^  ^'^"^^^'^^"'^'  ^- 

^^••tenvards  addressed  to  the  que  n  hi  bd  df  771'  ''^'V^''' 

-Pituhuing  the  kindnesseJ^vhich  het     l:^^;r;;^2  n"''' 

or  Powhatan   psnppi'nllir  „,  .      '"^'-'*'t^n  irom  tlie  House 

ii.tuin,  especially  commemorates  th-it  ni'  tl,;.  o  i 

an  escort  ^f  twd^^e  f  \17"  ''^^^•'"•^''"f  '^  ^'^  -"'"-"t  with 

but,the'messen.erfim  1:  ;     ^     ''  """"'"'^  ''''^'  ^''''  ^«J"i-i»g; 

too  heavv  "  w  re  f d!  °  '""  "^r'""  '"^  '^  ^""'^^""°  ''^-"^vvh! 

transporta'tio  '''"^"  "'^^  ^''^'^^'^^^  ^'^"-^  ^^"^J  for  their 


52 


TUE  PEOPLK'S  BOOK  OF  niSTOKY. 


CEAPTEH   ?. 


PRTVATIONR  OF    THE    COLONISTS. — RELIEVED    BY   POCAHON- 
TAS.—  ARRIVAL    OF     NEWPORT    FRO.V     ENGLAND. — INTER- 
COURSE  AND   TRAFFIC   WITH   POWHATAN.  —  BLUE   BEADS 

FOR     CROWN     JEWELS. IMAGINARY     GOLD      MINE. — 

SMITH'S    VOYAGE     IN     THE     CHESAPKAKE. INTER- 
VIEWS WITH  NUMEROUS  NATIVE  TRIBES. STING- 
RAY POINT. — HIS  RETURN. 


During  tlie  six  weeks'  captivity  of  Smith,  the  miserable  little  rem- 
nant ol'  the  colony,  by  quarrels  and  improvidence,  was  all  in  confu- 
sion, and  he  was  again  compelled  to  use  force  to  keep  a  number 
from  deserting  in  the  pinnace.  The  malcontents  next  hatched  up  a 
ridiculous  scheme  for  his  execution  on  account  of  the  loss  of  his 
companions,  saying  that,  by  the  Lcvitical  law,  he  Wiis  responsible  for 
their  lives:  "but  he  qujckly  tooke  such  order  with  such  Lawyers 
tliat  he  layd  them  by  the  heels,"  {i.  e.  in  j^rison)  "till  ho  sent  some 
of  them  prisoners  for  England."  The  colony,  indeed,  would  have 
])erishcd  of  hunger,  but  for  the  generosity  of  Pocahontas,  (and  per- 
haps Powhatan,)  who  with  her  attendants  carried  food  to  Jamestown 
every  four  or  five  days.  Through  her  influence  many  other  Indians 
brought  provision  as  presents,  or,  if  they  sold  it,  made  the  captain  fix 
his  own  price,  "so  had  he  inchanted  these  poore  soules,  being  their 
prisoner." 

Of  two  .ships,  dispatched  by  the  company,  with  a  reinforcement  of 
a  hnndr.'d  nun,  to  Virginia,  one  only  under  Newport  reached  her 
destination,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1607.  A  brisk  traffic  was 
now  carried  on  with  the  Indians;  and  at  the  request  of  Powliatan, 
Smith  and  Newport  made  him  a  visit.  "With  many  pretty  dis- 
C(jur.-:es  to  rentnv  their  old  acquaintance,"  says  the  original  narrative, 
"tliis  great  King  and  our  Captaine  passed  tlnur  time.  *         * 

Tliree  or  foure  days  more  we  spent  in  feasting,  daunciu'r,  and  trading, 
wherein  Pou-lmtan  carried  hiniself  so  proudly,  yet  discreetly,  (in  his 
salvage  manner)  as  made  us  all  admire  hi.-^  naturnll  gifts."  Newport, 
however,,  proved  no  match  for  him  at  a  bargnin,  and  the  oo]oni>ts 
Avould  have  received  but  a  pitiful  supply  of  provision  fu- their  goods, 
but  .''or  the  astuteness  of  Smith,  wlio  contrived,  a.s  if  b\-  accident,  to 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OP  VIBGINIA.  53 

display  before  the  cliieC  several  flashy  ornaments.  The  fancy  of  his 
imijesty  was  wonderfully  struck  with  certain  blue  beads  "A  lone 
time  he  importunately  desired  them,  but  Smith  seemed  so  much  the 
more  to  affect  them,  as  being  composed  of  a  most  rare  substance  of 
the  colour  of  the  skyes,  and  not  to  be  worne  but  by  the  greatest 
kings  m  the  \\  odd.  This  made  him  halfe  madde  to  be  the  owner  of 
such  strange  lovvells;  so  that  ere  we  departed,"  says  the  narrator 
"for  a  pound  or  tw»  of  blew  bcades,  he  brought  over  my  kin<.  fol 
2  or  300  Bushells  of  corne ;  yet  parted  good  fi-iends."  Other  royal 
families  ^yere  supplied  with  crown  jewels  at  similar  rates,  and  the 
blue  beads  were  held  in  such  veneration  that  none,  except  of  the 
blood-royal,  were  permitted  to  wear  them. 

After  their  rctu.-n,  a  fresh  misfortune  befell  the  colony  in  the  sun- 
posed  discovery  of  a  bed  of  gold-which  probably  was  yellow  mica 
or  iron  pyntes-and  to  the  gathering  of  which  the  foolish  colonists 
with  great  eagerness,  betook  themselves,  despite  the  ..assiouate  re- 
monstrances of  Smith.  "Never,"  he  says,  "anything  did  more  tor- 
ment him  than  to  sec  all  necessary  business  neglected  to  fraught  such 
a.lrunken  ship"  (Newport's)  "with  so  much  gilded  durt."  In  the 
spring  of  1608,  the  other  vessel,  the  Phoenix,  which  had  been  blown 
by  a  tempest  to  the  West  Indies,  arrived  with  abundant  supplies  of 
provisions  She  was  dispatched  home  with  a  load  of  cedar  the  first 
fruit  reaped  by  England  from  the  natural  wealth  of  the  valt  region 
she  was  attempting  to  occupy.  ° 

Under  the  active  management  of  Smith,  the  colonists  now  set 
iemselvcs  busily  to  work  at  building  and  planting,  and  the  colony 
hough  somewhat  menaced  by  the  dubious  conduct  of  the  Indians' 
kept  in  check  only  by  the  resolute  conduct  of  the  same  energetic 
kuder,  began  to  stand  on  a  basis  of  rational  prosperity.     On  the  2d 
of  June,  the  indefatigable  captain,  with  fourteen  companions,  set  forth 
HKi  barge  on  a  voyage  of"  discovery,  and  especially  for  the  purj.ose 
f  cxplonng  Chesapeake  liay.     "S<.me  visions  of  a  South  sJa  to  be 
tamed  anda  new  channel  opened  to  the  wealthy  regions  of  India, 
'  :'y  .ave  nnngled,  it  is  probable,  with  the  n.ore  practical  intentioj 
of  reducing  these  great  waters  and  their  shores  within  the  limits  of 
g-g.aphy.      In  the  course  of  this  survey  along  the  eastern  shore 
n  uiy  Ind.aiis  wei^e  encountered,  at  first  timid  or  hostile,  and  finali; 
nu.dly  and  eonliding.     After  a  fortnight  of  incessant  labour  and 

^■'   '^-i^'ni.     The  weather  had  been  stormy  and  disastrous,  their 


HUi 


t<f 


54 


TlIK   I'KOl'LK'S   BOOIv   OK   HISTOKY, 


shirts  had  been  taken  to  make  sails,  and  several  of  them  were  sick. 
AVilh  much  regret,  tlieir  leader  consented,  and  on  the  IGlh  of  Jimo 
discovered  the  river  Potoinae,  which  he  ascended  I'or  thirty  milos. 
Here,  we  arc  told,  probably  with  extraordinary  exag^eralion,  tho 
voyagers  found  "all  the  woods  layd  with  andjuscadoes  to  the  number 
of  tliree  or  foure  thousand  Salvnges,(!)  so  strangely  paynttd,  giinied, 
and  disguised,  shouting,  yelling,  and  crying,  as  so  many  spirits  from 
hell  could  not  have  showed  more  terrible."  In  spite  of  this  vulic- 
nieut  demonstration,  they  presently  entered  into  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  English. 

On  their  return  the  latter  were  liberally  supplied  wilh  gune  hy 
the  Indians  whom  they  encountered,  and  found  fish  so  plonly  Uiat 
they  attempted  to  catch  theni  wilh  a  frying-pan;  but  Ibuud  tlmt 
instrument  better  suited  for  their  disposal  out  of  the  water  tluui  in 
it.  At  the  moutli  of  the  l{ai)pahanouk,  at  Stiug-Uay  Point,  (the 
name  of  which  still  commemorates  the  incident,)  the  gallant  captain, 
having  speared  a  lish  with  his  sword,  and  taking  it  off ''(not  knowing 
her  condition)"  was  grievously  stung;  and  such  alarming  syin[)touis 
ensued  that,  eonchuliiig  his  end  was  at  hand,  he  gave  directions  for 
his  funeral,  and  had  his  grave  prepared  in  an  island  hard  by;  yet  by 
means  of  "a  precious  oyle"  applied  by  Russell  the  surgeon,  recov- 
ered so  far  that  he  had  his  revenge  of  the  fish  by  eating  a  piece  of 
it  for  his  sujjper.  On  the  21st  of  July  the  expcdilion  returned  to 
Jamestown,  luiving  made  extensive  surveys,  and  acquired  much 
knowledge  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake. 


CHAPTEE   ?I. 

s.irrr  >,,,«  prb.„„„,_„,  „,,„„,         suitv,-, —,„, 

"oYr-:,;:,?,:' " """•,-«.,»«.,  ;■:";:  r 

OP   row„,>TA»,_„,„co«.,sp,„,   ATI,.;     I  „r 

'-'  to  then  to  come  a.ul  r2    him       V  "  1    "r  ""  ""  '"^■'^''■ 

3.e :;;!:  r;^!:;;:r2:7 '7': -''-'  "-^  -'^'--  ---  ^' 

'^i"'Ple  disposition    wh  '"      ''  •'"'  '^"'^'"^"^  "^  '-^  '"'"-t,  unci 

portion,  .oundin..  f  '  nTh'\    "^"""''  ''  ""^'  "^'"  ''^'^^'^^'"^  ^''->  1'- 

le.  wa^  th.::;!;;::  j^  ■;::d  "l;:;' '^  "f'":;''!  ^"^  -'^  -^  "■"•- 

^  -  ui  a  jara  about,  and  ail  ilie  rest  of  his  limbs 


it 


56 


THE  I'KOl'LE'S    HOOK   OF   IIISTOKY, 


SO  answerable  to  that  jM-oportion,  that  he  seemed  the  goodliest  man 
we  ever  beheld."  Tliese  splendid  savages  were  fittingly  dressed  in 
the  skins  of  wolves  and  bears,  so  worn  as  much  to  resemble  the 
natural  ferocious  appearance  of  the  animals. 

Their  veneration  for  Smith,  whose  reputation  had  doubtless  pre- 
ceded him,  was  almost  unbounded.  "There  seems  to  have  been  a 
natural  dignity,  kindness,  and  manhood  in  his  demeanor,  whicli 
invariably  was  sufficient  to  overawe  or  conciliate  the  rudest  tribes 
which  he  encountered."  "Our  order,"  says  the  journal  of  the  voy- 
a"e,  "was  daily  to  have  prayer,  with  a  Psulme,  at  which  soleimiitie 
the  poor  Salvages  much  wondred;  our  Prayers  being  done,  a  wliilc 
they  were  busied  with  a  consultation  till  tliey  had  contrived  tbcir 
businesse.  Then  they  began  in  a  most  passionate  maimer  to  hold 
vp  their  handes  to  the  Sunne,  with  a  most  fearefidl  Song,  then 
embracing  our  Captaine,  they  began  to  adore  him  in  like  manner; 
though  he  rebuked  them,  yet  they  proceeded  till  their  Song  was 
finished;  which  done,  with,  a  most  strange  furious  action  and  a  hell- 
ish voyce,  began  an  Oration  of  their  loves;  that  ended,  with  a  great 
painted  Beares  skin  they  covered  him;  then  one  ready  with  r  great 
chayne  of  white  Beades,  weighing  at  least  six  or  seaven  poinides, 
hung  it  about  his  necke,  the  others  had  18  mantles,  made  of  divers 
kinds  of  skinnes,  sowed  together;  all  these,  with  many  other  toyes, 
they  layed  at  his  feete,  stroking  their  ceremonious  hands  about  his 
necke,  to  be  their  Governour  and  Protector." 

Passing  up  the  Eappahannock,  the  voyagers  were  attacked  by 
hostile  savagi-s,  who,  "accommodating  themselves  with  branches," 
showered  volleys  of  arrows  on  their  barge.  One  of  these,  being 
wounded,  was  taken  by  the  English,  and  was  asked  why  his  people 
showed  such  eiunity  to  peaceful  strangers— to  which,  says  the  nar- 
rativ<  ,  "the  poore  Salvage  mildly  answered  that  they  heard  we  were 
a  '  i)le  come  from  under  the  world  to  take  their  world  from  them. 
*  Then  we  asked  liim  what  was  beyond  the  mountains,  he 
answered  the  Sunne;  but  of  anything  els  he  knew  nothing,  because 
the  woodes  were  not  burnt." 

In  the  course  of  this  protracted  expedition.  Smith  com])lcte(l  the 
survey  of  the  shores  of  Chesai)eakc  Bay,  of  which  he  made  an  ac- 
curate chart,  and  acquired  much  other  useful  information.  A  brief 
but  interesting  account  of  the  country  and  the  various  tribes  oncoun- 
tercd,-was  also  drawn  up,  and  on  tlie  7th  of  September,  after  an 
absence  of  three  months,  (excepting  the  short  visit  in  July,  when  lie 


«i 


THE    SETTLE.MKNT   OF   VIKGINIA.        ' 
was  made  prosidont  ^  and  n  vn^,.^,r^  ^e 

women,  a  Mrs.  Forrest  and  maid,  were  the  fu-.t  r  ,  V  f  "°"'^'- 
to  the  colony,  and  there  were  .,1«  '""7/  ^/"'^^  ^^''"^^'^^  who  came 
make  tar,  ght,  and  ^1  T  t;!^'' .  f '^  -  ^-'-nans,  sent  to 
disappoin;c:i  i.^.e  Irn^  of  i^  f^'  -"pany,  irritated  and 
orilerid  tl,e  unfortun  .tl      't  t"     7'°"'  .-;^l-«tations,  had 

golde.  a  certaintie  of  the  Z  Se"  .o.L  oTtLT'r"  "  ^""^'^  °' 
out  by  Sir  AValter  Raleigi."  Aeetrd  n^  v  L  T  "'"f ""'  ''"* 
barge,  built  in,  separate  pieeefwhchwa;  to  h  T  '  °""'^' 

mountains  of  the    Vest   (L  Rl',,  ?     ,    ^  "'^'''''"'^  "^^'^  *'»« 

-e  river  Howing  ;::^'t  '  >  '  ..f ''fS\:'f  H  ""  'r^'^'  ''' 
writes  Smith,  in.Hgnantly  m  ^  tratim  '  W^"' ''"  ^" ''^'"^ '' 
might  have  earried  her  in  a  ba^  ni^ ^h  i  fi  l"'"/"';''  "' 
to  a  navigable  plaee  above  the  F  aL    o.y      ?  ,"^  '"""^^ 

fHK]  in  the  South  Sea  a  Mine  of  Sde  or  u"  Z  ^'^'^^/I'^V' 
n....,M....ConsnUatio.i-rtC^^^^^ 

To  propitiate  Powhatan,  and  tl)us  secure  a  free  passive  to  f],. 
■nsTrcscnts  I  ik,  n,„   ,  t"  ',   ?  '    "^  •>""'■  '""=  ''■"'«  «'"' 

«■■»  .•'-.  t„  kit:.,:-  '^  5;',  ,,^  ■»  -  -^ '-";  ".*.  j^.y»  I 

I  our  I  athcr    (Newport)  "is  to  come  to 


58 


THE  PKOTLK'S   BOOK   OK    HISTORY. 


I'  I 


if 


1110,  not  I  to  liiin,  nor  yet  to  your  fort,  neither  will  I  bite  at  sueh  a 
bait.  *  *  A.s  for  any  salt  water  beyond  the  mountain.^,  the 
Kelations  you  have  hail  from  my  people  are  false,"  and  sitting  down, 
he  began  to  draw  maps,  on  the  ground,  of  all  the  adjaeont  regions, 

Smith  and  Ne\vj)ort,  to  humour  his  ol).stinacy,  aeeordingly,  wiili 
the  presents  and  a  guard  of  lifty  men,  n.'paired  to  Werowoeomooo. 
The  solemn  coronation  of  Powhatan,  which  took  [ilaee  the  day  after 
tlicir  arrival,  is  deseribed  with  mueh  dry  humour  in  the  old  narrative. 
His  majesty  .seems  to  have  had  some  eoiieeptiou  of  tlie  iiuiubugof 
the  thing,  or  perhaps  a  strong  distru.st  of  the  English,  or  a  dread 
of  necromancy.  His  furniture  having  been  properly  set  up,  we  are 
told,  "  his  scarlet  Cloke  and  Apparcll  were  witli  mueh  adoe  put  on 
him,  being  jierswaded  by  Nanivntack*  they  would  not  hurt  liini; 
but  a  foidc  trouble  there  was  to  make  him  kneele  to  receive  his 
Crowne,  he  neither  knowing  the  maiesty  nor  meaning  of  a  Crowiie 
nor  bending  of  the  knee,  endured  so  many  perswasions,  examples, 
and  instructions  as  tyred  them  all;  at  last,  hy  kanituj  hard  uu  Aw 
s/iduhlcrfi,  he  n  liUle  nlon^xd,  and  three,  having  the  Crowne  in  their 
haiuLs,  put  it  on  his  head,  when,  by  the  warning  of  a  Pistoll,  the 
Boats  were  prepared  with  such  a  volley  of  shot,  that  the  King  started 
up  in  a  horrible  feare,  till  he  saw  that  all  \vas  well." 

'^riiis  august  ceremony  accomplished,  Newport,  (kspite  the  warn- 
ings (if  tlu'  king,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  in  "hisgreiit 
five-peeced  barge,"  set  forth  to  ascend  the  James  River  in  quest  of 
hisluni])  of  gold  and  the  South  Sea.  The  boat  was  stojipcd  by  the 
Falls,  and  the  company,  after  getting  by  land  about  forty  uiilcs  fur- 
ther, and  sulVcring  much  from  toil  and  exposure,  were  compelled  to 
return  to  Jamestown.  On  their  arrival,  Captain  Smith  set  tlferu  at 
work  at  various  u.^eful  occupations,  such  as  cutting  down  trees  and 
hewing  timber,  taking  the  lead  himself,  and  making  labour  pleasant 
In-  good-nature  and  mc  I'iment. 

*  Newport,  on  his  Former  visit,  li;ifi  pivsenti-d  Pdwhutiin  witii  ii  boy  numed  Salvage, 
.•inri  till'  i-liiiT,  in  ivturii,  ii  id  given  iiiiii  "  .\<iiiitiiit(ick,\\i>i  trustie  servant,  and  one  ol' a 
shrewd,  subtile  enjiaeitie."' 


m 


THE  SETTLEMKNT  OF  VIRGINIA.  59 


GHAPTEH   ?IL 

PLOT  AOAINST  SMITIf  — Ills   I.KTTEIl  TO  T  II  K  COMPANY  —HIS 

KFFnitTS  TO  sri'I'OliT  TIIK   C  0  I.  0  N  Y.  — K  X  P  K  I)  1  T  I  0  N    TO   SIIIl- 

I'UISK    POWHATAN.— AKTFUI,    SPUKCHES,    AND     M  U  T  I' A  I, 

TRKAfMIliUY. Tin;  UNOMSH  AOAIN  SAVED  IIY  POCAHONTAS. 

To  moot  tlio  Ki-i.rcily  of  provi..;„ns,  wliic-li  agniu  meiiaocl  th,, 
colony,  Smith  again  a.^wmlnl  tlic  C'hickaliorniiiy,  and  broti-lit  l.ac's 
a  groat  store  of  corn.  ^cwpr,rt  an.I  Ratdiiro,  in  liis  abs(Mi<30,  IkhI 
I-Iottcd  to  depose  Inm;  l.ut,  we  are  told,  "their  homes  were  so  nniel, 
too  short  to  elleet  it,  ny  tiie.y  themselves  more  narrowly  escaped  a 
greater  mischiefe."  lie  fiiuilly  dispatched  home  a  ship  freicdited  with 
the  products  of  the  country,  and  in  a  letter  to  the  company"  bcsonoht 
a  supply  of  mechanics  and  labourers.  Complaining  of  the  misixM,- 
resontations  of  Newport,  he  adds,  "Now  that  you  should  know  I 
have  nwide  you  as  great  a  discovery  as  ho,  for  a  lesse  ehar-e  than 
he  spoiideth  you  every  meale,  I  have  sent  you  this  Mappe  of  the 
Bay  and  ]{ivcrs,  with  an  annexed  Relation  of  the  Countries  and 
Nations  that  inhabit  them,  as  you  may  see."  They  had  complaiped 
that  they  were  kept  in  i^niorancc  of  the  conntrv,  to  which  he  stiniv 
replies,  "I  desire  but  to  know  what  cither  you  or  these  here  do'- 
kiioNv,  but  what  I  have  learned  to  tell  you,  at  the  continuall  ha;^ard 
or  iiiy  life." 

ill  the  ensuing  winter,  scarcity  again  prevailed,  and  the  president, 
by  repeated  excursions  atnong  the  Indians,  sleei)ing,  with  his  atten<l' 
aiits,  111  the  snow,  gained  a  scanty  and   precarious  supply      The 
colony  at  length  beitig  in  danger  of  starvation,  he  came  to  the  rash 
and  uiLserupulous  resolutiim  of  seizing  the  .stores  of  Powhatan  and 
iHiilang  pri.soner  of  that  chief  himself.     On  the  29th  of  December 
hesellorth  up  the  river,  with  tluve  boats  and   forty-six  volunteer^' 
and  on  Ids  way  dispatched  .Mr.  Sicklemore,  ("a  very  valiant,  hone.st' 
and  paineruli  S.iildier,")  with  two  more   on  an  unsucee.ssCul  .search 
for  the  l<,st  colony  of  Raleigh.     Arriving  at  \Verowoeo„H),-o,  he  was 
wel   entertained  by  Powhatan,  who,  however,  was  well  apprized  of. 
In.s  ho,«lile  intention,  having  been   informed  of  it  by  the  Germans 
who  had  bren  .sent  to  hni'd  him  a  house.     .Mucli  parh'y  ensued  each 
profes,sing  much  friendshi]),  and  endeavouring  to  take  the  other  at  a 


60 


TUB   I'liOPLE'S    UOOK    OF    IIISTUKY. 


(lirtad vantage,  anil  Powhatan  made  a  set  speech,  "expostulating  tlio 
difreroncc  between  Peace  and  Warre." 

"Captaine  Smith,"  ho  said,  "you  may  understand  that,  having 
scene  tlie  death  of  all  my  people  tlu-ice,  and  not  any  one  living  of 
those  tlirce  generations  but  inysclfo,  I  Icnow  the  difTcrenee  of  Pcucu 
and  Warre  better  than  any  in  my  country.  But  now  I  am  old  and 
<  ro  long  must  die.  *  *  #  Thinlc  you  I  am  so  simple 
as  not  to  know  it  is  better  to  eato  good  meate,  lye  well,  and  sli-op 
quietly  with  my  women  and  children,  laugh  and  be  merry  with  you 
luivc  copper,  hatchets,  or  what  I  want,  being  your  friend;  than  bo 
forced  to  flye  from  all,  to  lye  cold  in  the  woods,  fcede  upon  AcornoH 
routes,  and  such  trash,  and  be  so  hunted  by  you  that  I  can  neither 
rci^t,  eate,  nor  sleepe;  but  my  tyred  men  must  watch,  and  if  a  t\vi<r 
but  breakc,  every  one  cryeth,  'there  eommeth  Captaine  Smith ;^  then 
must  I  fly  I  know  not  whither,  and  thus  with  miserable  fcare  end 
my  miserable  life."  He  then  endeavoured  to  persuade  the  English 
to  lay  aside  their  arms,  intending  to  surprise  them;  and  on  their 
refusal,  heaving  a  deep  sigh,  "breathed  his  mind  once  more,"  in  art- 
ful persuasions  to  the  same  effect,  and  reminded  Smith  how  he  had 
always  called  him  his  father.  "I  call  you  father,  indeed,"  said  his 
guest,  "and  as  a  father  you  shall  see  I  will  love  you;  but  the  small 
care  you  have  of  such  a  childe,  caused  my  men  to  perswade  me  to 
looke  to  myselfe." 

Meanwhile,  he  privately  sent  for  his  soldiers  at  the  boats  to  land 
quickly  and  surprise  the  chief;  but  the  latter,  forewarned  of  their 
movements,  retreated  into  the  woods,  and  his  warriors,  in  great 
number,  closed  around  the  house.  But  Smith,  rushing  among  them 
with  sword  and  target,  made  good  his  exit,  and  Powhatan,  says  the 
narrative,  "to  excuse  his  flight  and  the  sudden  comingof  this  multi- 
tude, sent  our  Captaine  a  great  bracelet  and  a  chaine  of  pearl,  by  an 
anei-'Ut  Oratour,"— who  had  charge,  with  plausible  explanations,  to 
.smooth  the  affair  over.  The  captain  had  purchased  a  quantity  of  corn, 
^\hieh  the  Indians  carried  to  his  barge,  and  prepared  to  pa.ss  the 
night  in  the  village.  Powhatan,  "bursting  with  desire  to  have  his 
head,"  meanwhile,  laid  a  deep  plot  for  the  dcstructicm  of  the  intruders. 
"Notwithstanding,"  continues  the  old  narrative,  "the  eternall  all 
seeing  God  did  prevent  him,  and  by  a  strange  meanes.  For  Poca- 
hontas, his  dearest  iewell  and  daughter,  in  that  darke  night  cimie 
through  the  irksome  woodes,  and  told  our  Captaine  great  cheare 
should  be  .sent  us  by  and  by;  but  Powhatan  and  all  the  power  he 


TIIKSKTTI.KMKXT   OF   VI  KG  INI  A. 

coulel  make  wouia  after  come  kill  us  all,  if  they  that  brought  it 
coul     .0    k.  1  UH  wtL  our  owno  weapons  wl.en  wo  wore  at  .sapper 

1.,  c  o.e,  >f  wo  wouW  hvo,  shoe  wished  us  prosoutly  to  be  ino 
Sn,.h  things  as  she  dehglued  in  ho  would  have  given  her-  but  witl; 
ih.  icaros  runn.ng  downo  her  cheek.s,  she  said  she  du'rst  not  Z 
scene  to  have  any,  for  ,f  Powhatan  should  know  it,  she  were  but 
(lead;  so  shoe  raiino  away  by  liers,!lfe  as  she  came  " 

In  the  evening,  aeeonling  to  the  plot,  a  nunibe,'  of  sava-^es  bear- 
ing great  platters  ..f  venison  and  other  rofreslur.e.its,  ea.ue  to  the 
-luartcrs  of  the  English.  With  much  civilitv,  they  equestc^  to 
l:>tter  to  put  out  t  e  n.atchcs  of  their  ,nns,  all-in/that  ^hl.o 
.nude  them  s.ek;  but  the  intended  vietin.s  only  redouL:ed  their  nre- 
cantions  aga.nst  surprise,  and  Powhatan,  who  sent  messenger  after 
messenger  to  learn  the  state  of  allairs,  at  length  despaired  oFfindin. 
then  oil  the.r  guard,  an<I  relinquished  his  design.  ^The  next  rnor  ° 
.ng  the  urnn vated  VKs.tors  took  their  <leparture.  "  It  certainly  cannot 
be  regretted  that  tins  attempt  of  Smith  to  seize  the  pein  a,H 


CHAPTSH   ?IIL 

ENL    0^     OF     S,,.T.I.-THE     COLONY     SH  P  P  M  E  „. -sm  I  T  11 

Po.soxKh.-u.s  uNscRrPur.ous  Poi.icY.-nrs  fioht 

WITH    TMR    K1V,(    OF    P  A  S  !■  A  II  K  (;  H.  — ' '  P  H  ETT  Y   AC- 
(M  DENTS"    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

At  Pamunkey,  the  seat  of  Opechancanongh,  whither  they  next 
r  paired,  hbera  entertainment  was  provided  for  the  English  and  a 

d  d  I  '   "■';  "' '^   '"'"'"    --l-"'--«.   -s   finallv  sur/ 

ro      ed  by  a  force  of  seven    hundred  arn.ed  warriors;    his^  host, 
th  as  rained  cheerlulnes.se,-'  holdu.g  him  engaged  in  talk  th 
vile     On  seeing  h,s  situation,  the  captain,  in  a  stirring  little  speech 
xhor  cd  Ins  people  "to  fight  like  men  and  not  die  like  sheonc  "  ad 
tl->,  tolling  his  treacherous  host,  "T  see  your  plot  to  mu  d  r  le 


t  i,« 


i.'f. 


f  'r 


II 


'4t 


62 


TllK   I'KOI'LK'S    UOdK    OF    UISTtiUY. 


but  I  fcarc  it  not,"  defit'cl  hirii  to  singlo  combat.  Desulos  liis  life,  lie 
on'iivi]  to  stake'  on  tlio  issue  .'iiiy  ixnioiiiit  of  copper  agaiuist  tlio  Siuiio 
viiliie  ill  eorii — "iiiid  our  dnme,"  lie  said,  "sliiiU  he,  tlio  Coiiquenmr 
take  all."  But  tho  chief,  declining  tins  handsome  proposal,  endeav- 
oured to  induce  his  guest  to  venture  forth,  on  [)retencc  of  bustowinc 
on  liiiii  a  rich  preJient,  tliirtj-  of  the  savages  lying  in  nmbush  behiiul 
n  great  log  to  shoot  liiin. 

Apprized  of  this  design,  the  incensed  captain,  "in  a  rage  snntcliod 
the  king  by  his  long  locke  in  tho  middest  of  his  men,"  clapped  u 
pistol  to  his  bnvist,  and  led  him  forth  before  the  multitude  of  hi^^ 
warriors.  Tiic  chief  then  "bestowed  his  presents  in  good  sadiiessc" 
liis  people,  fearing  for  his  life,  making  no  resistance;  and  Smith 
"still  holding  the  King  liy  the  liayrc,"  addressed  tho  assembled 
savages  with  stern  reproaches.  "Tf  you  shoote  but  one  Arrow,''  be 
concluded,  "lo  .-<lied  one  drop  of  bloud  of  any  of  my  men,  or  stoalu 
tho  leaste  of  the.se  Beades  and  Copper  which  I  spurne  here  before 
me  with  my  fontc;  you  shall  see  I  will  not  cease  revenge  (if  once  I 
bofrin)  so  long  as  I  can  lieare  to  find  one  of  your  Nation  that  will 
not  deny  the  name  of  PamaiDtk.  I  am  not  now  at  Ihissaweak,  Imif 
drowned  with  myre,  where  you  tooke  me  prisoner.  You  promised 
to  fraught  my  ship  ere  I  dejiarted,  and  so  you  shall,  or  1  will  loade 
her  with  your  dead  carca.s.ses."  This  "angry  parle,"  however,  he 
ended  uioiv  mildly,  oflering  the  release  of  their  chief  and  his  own 
friendship,  if  they  would  fulfil  their  agreem.ents.  Struck,  it  woulil 
seem,  with  equal  awe  and  admiration,  the  Indians  laid  aside  their 
•weapons,  and  began  to  bring  in  great  store  of  provision.s,  and  sin- 
gularly enough,  yet,  from  repeated  experience,  not  improbably,  tliev 
appear  to  have  fulfilled  their  agreement  with  real  cordiality. 

Meanwhile,  allairs  at  Jamestown  had  gone  ill,  Scrivener,  tliu 
deputy,  with  ten  others,  having  been  drowned,  on  a  stormy  day,  in 
a  boat.  'Plie  life  of  the  ines.sengcr  sent  with  the  di.'^aslrous  tidiiijis 
to  Werowoe'iiiioco,  was  only  saved  by  the  compassion  of  Pocaliontiis, 
who  eontiivL'd  to  hide  him  from  the  oxecutioner.s.  The  contest  of 
their  wits  was  jircsently  renewed  between  Smith  and  Powhatan,  the 
former  eivleavouriiig  to  surprise  that  chief  and  seize  his  store  of 
jirovisioiis,  (a  plan  again  defeated  by  "those  damned  J)ateliine!i," 
says  the  ii!di>;naiit  narrator,)  and  the  latter  leaving  no  means  untried 
to  take  til''  lili'  of  his  redoubted  foe.  TTis  peojile  not  daring  to  att;id( 
the  English  openly,  an  attempt  was  made  to  poison  them,  wliicli, 
however,  only  had  the  elfect  to  make  Smith  and  s-omc  others  disu- 


I     grooal.ly  but  not  dangerously  ^ick      "  ir     „ 
I     fellow,  knowing  ho  vvoh  suHpectcd  of  l„.i„      ''     "•  "^'"'  '^  ''*''"*  3^"""g 
'^■i'l'  '"'^'^  "r  fifiio  of  hiH  H^i  ^^""^'  f'^' "'•«  present  of  povHon 

he  expected  to  incountor  /r:;::';  !!,Vir  ^T'  J'  "  ''^'"^'^ 
■ng,  ...  the  midst  of  his  company  did  n'  /•''"''"'*  P^'''^«'^- 

'"•■"  li'^-^-  --^  ''"^'^-,  as  scorning  to  do    him  „    ""^^^  ^''"'"'  ''"'  «''"^"« 

•>-l.els  of  ion(o.,i."t  :  r,:^'"^«^"^^'\-^h  "ve  hundred 
vano„H  tribes.  A  portion,  wc  e  r^t  o  f "''  '""'  '"""  """"»  ^^'« 
fn.n,  its  possessors,  and  it  is  to  hn  ■^'  T  '"'''''^'  ^y  ^'"'^n^o 

tainly  iuKl  a  generous  a  <  e  ,  it  27 '"  '."^^  ^'""^^''  -'">  -- 
considerations  of  poliey  or    en"  ^''"'*.'  ''^^'"'^'"^  ^'^^^^  ^'^Ai^rcd 

•'-•'ji-i-veashad/uponh!;;::!,::;"'^!;;;  itv"  ^^^  ^^"^"^ 

oxp..lmon,  however,  seems  to  have  viewvvl  tl  ^^"•""•^l^r  of  the 

f-ent  light,  and  even  takes  mul'  insto  /  T'""/'^  ''  ^^^"^  ^'^■- 
tl.e  charge  of  blameable  modertur  J  ,?'"''  '^'  "^"''y  ^'^"^ 
world's  ignorant  eensure^2t'  1  '  '"  ^''''''  "^he  blind 
proceedings,"  he  sap  <4otme'' '" ''"'"•  "'^'''-«  temporising 
•la-lv  daring,  trechL;„s;  ^^to'  ^.T""  ^''"",'^'"^'^'  ^«  ^^^  t 
washed  not  the  ground  with  tiei;  1  ^.c  "r  7  '  7'"^  ''^''*  "" 
"iventions  in  manglincr,  murderlM,/  .  ''"^  '^''^'^  "^''""go 

'ii.lthe,V.,,,.,)1,.,-^f  ^^^  and  destroying  (^ 

The  dread  of  .starvation  Lnovlirbv  thf  1^'"7'"'  ""^'''•" 
^et  the  colonists  at  work  at  va^l  V    ?^""^""^'  ^^"''P^^'  ^^^^^^ 
table  of  their  merits  or  dentit  "!:    ^7'"!'""^^'  ^^^P-S  a 

tasl^---"for  there  was  no  oxcus    cLt     ^  "•""'"'"  *'"'  '"^'^'''^^ 

^-h  troubles  witluhesava^;LedL'thr;       '^  '"'^"^  ^""^•" 
o"t,  and  Smith,  incautiously^r^v      t  1^^  ;™"«.  ^^  ^roko 

h.s  sword,  again  had  occasion  to  show  nil  7  '^'''P°'^  ^"* 

'':  ''-\   An  ambuseade  ^^  fo^y  :^     ;:  ^'^^^  ""  ^^^n^ing 
■"tercppt  him.     "JJy  the  wnv  1,«  ,•  "'°f  ""^'  been  pre])ared  to 

a  -t  ..out  .stroni  S ^  !  vl  r"'"'  '"  ^'"^^  on>aspahegh. 
pe-wado  him  to  his  Am  rush  ed n/7-'''""?  "^'  '^"'^  '"^^'^  *" 
fa>.cl,con"(falehion)  "attemned  n  ^  T  T^^  ''""''^  ^^"^  ^^''^i^  a 
1-vcnted  his  shooting  ;Cplt:r'r  ""'  ^"  ^'^  ^'^^''^''^-^ 
^^■ell  prevented  his  drawing  hn^^^^  ^'™'  ""'^  *^'«  S'''^'"««  as 

"->  River  to  have  drown  dhm  '";'"""V^"^  P^'^--  ^^^^e  him  into 
'i"  the  President  got  sueh  a  hold  n  7°    P'  "'''''"^'"^  '"  '^''  ''-''^> 

^--King;b^havS;;i:::^\::iit::^r^^ 


'or.,  IV 


oo 


1  head. 


64 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTOKY. 


seeing  how  pitifully  lie  bogged  his  life,  he  led  him  prisoner  to  Tnmcs 
Towne  and  put  him  in  chaynes."  Encounters  with  the  hostile 
tribe,  resulting  in  a  more  sanguinary  manner,  were  finally  ended 
by  treaty.  The  Indians  had  been  eager,  by  theft  or  undc^rdianded 
dealings,  to  procure  arms  and  ammunition;  but  it  so  happened 
that  in  drying  a  quantity  of  gun-powder  on  a  piece  of  armour  over 
the  fire,  it  exploded,  to  their  terrible  injury,  so  that  by  "this  and 
many  such  pretty  Accidents,"  wc  are  told,  they  took  a  wholesome 
distrust  of  the  dangerous  commodity,  and  adopted  an  attitude  of  con- 
ciliation toward  the  colonists. 


.      cn  APTEH   IIo 

IPLUNT^SS    OF   THE   SETTLERS. ELOQUENT   SPEECH   AND   VIGOROUS 

POLICY    OF    SMITH. THE    N I  W    VIRGINIA    COMPANY.  — UNJUST 

ASSUMPTION    OP    POWER.— SMITH    D  EPOSE  D.—O  REAT  EX- 
PEDITION   DISPATCHED   FROM   ENGLAND:    ILL-FORTUNE. 

ARRIVAL   OF    NUMEROUS   IMMIGRANTS. ANARCHY. 

SMITH    REASSUMES    THE    PRESIDENCY. 

By  the  energy  of  their  brave  and  industrious  president,  tlie  Vir- 
ginian colonists  had  been  amply  supplied  with  food  and  shelter;  and 
additional  buildings  and  more  extended  agriculture  betokened  the 
prosperity  of  the  settlement.  Destruction  of  their  store,  by  rottins; 
and  the  rats,  renewed  former  privations,  and  reawakened  the  old 
mutinous  and  discontented  spirit.  By  the  assistance  of  the  In- 
dians, and  bv  fishing  and  gathering  the  natural  products  of  the 
country,  a  number  of  the  more  industrious  continued  to  keep  the 
settlement  from  starvation.  "But  such  was  the  strange  condition 
of  seme  l.-)0,  that  had  they  not  been  forced,  nohm  volms,  to  gather 
and  prepare  their  victunll,"they  would  all  have  starved  or  eaten  one 
another."  "  These  distracted  Gluttonous  Loyterers  "  would  fani  have 
"sold  to  the  Indians  every  utensil  of  labour  or  defence,  for  a  pittance 
of  corn,  and  omitted  no  means  of  cunning  and  mutinous  dcmeanonr 
to  compel  the  president  to  break  up  the  settlement  and  return  to 

England. 

Out  of  patience  at  their  ill-behaviour,  he  finally  resorted  to  severe 
measures.     In  a  summary  manner  he  punished  the  chief  ringleader, 


I    !; 


TIJK   SETTLEMEA'T    OF 


V  IK  (;  I N  r  A . 


65 


'one  Djcr,  a  most  crafty  follow  in,l   l,io 

~l  m  parionatc  „,e  b„t  I  will  ,loc  Iv  h„  ,T  ^^'  ^■°*  "  ■"''»'• 

But  dream  no  longer  of  tl.irvtiiri  ^  ^  ^  "^  ""«  ""'"gw^- 
will  longer  f„rbea°re  to  fo~  rl  Z  n,'"'"'""'  "T  *»'  ' 
youif  j-ou  rayle.    But  if  I  nnl^LT    '       ''"'=■'"»'«',  »>'<!  punish 

"Yo.  canuo.  deny  but  tCtb'tt td  ZVltre""  "'""""^ 
I  kave  saved  your,,  when  (™igh,  you,  Twn  IZ        ""'"^''"■"» 
j-ou  iTOuld  have  starved      But  T  „  J,       ,,  ''"°  prevailed) 

si«ce  aecessitie  hath  not  powe  I  ^  """  """^  "'»'  "■"-1°  "« 

Ifcose  fruites  the  e.  r  h  d'^t  2  ,[ T  '°\'  n  «""''"■ ''"  ^o"™'™' 
pur  selves,  but  for  thos  .  tC  '  X  A  T'r""''^  «""■"  '"' 
from  .he  store  than  the  worst  of  y.       and^f'!'  V","?""  '""'" 

;.;»:'«.,!:';-  rxrdri't'^  ?r  -'■  'r^h-' 

tions  or  starve."  '     ''  "®  ^^'"^'"fJ  Ins  condi- 

cli's  «;otrr:rx^lr  '"f  "ir  ""•"'"'■  =^«. "«'  •'- 

«l,  .lili,e„ec  th^t  ,h"  e  „4  :  T'"  v,"  '"■ "'"  '^•"'"'^^  »"l' 
»Fi»goflW,Cap.,n  S.^™  7r.X.l::^^:'^r''""\  '"  "'° 
»  »  v«I  well  loaded  with  ,up,  fc  tt^htiu'^Z'"'"^'""'^ 
lotlicirown  use  restitutinn  ,  '.' "™'."'l"<l'  •''«  settlers  converted 

t»«l.  tidings  of  rnlrrau'tZr:*:™'"^  "*•     ^"'»  -'™' 

«e  :x':nierii:;:t  tiit:?? "°™'"-"  "■'  '■— ■ 


■Iff 


66 


TliK  PKOrLK'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


weight  of  their  displeasure  on  the  head  of  Captain  Smith.  "His 
necessarily  firm  and  rigorous  rule  had  made  him  many  enemies; 
and  the  bluntness  and  plain-spoken  truth  of  his  communications  had 
shocked  the  dignity  of  the  authorities  at  home.  They  resolved  to 
depose  him  from  the  command  of  the  colony,  which  his  almost  un- 
aided exertions  had  so  repeatedly  preserved  from  destruction,  and 
the  true  value  of  which  their  short-sighted  rapacity  prevented  them 
from  appreciating." 

To  o-ratify  persons  of  wealth  and  influence  who  had  joined  the 
company,  in  May,  1609,  a  new  charter  was  obtained,  granting  abso- 
lute power  of  control  over  Virginia  to  the  patentees,  and  unjustly 
depriving  the  colonists  of  even  the  shadow  of  self-government.  Lord 
Delaware  was  appointed  captain-general,  and  a  host  of  inferior  offi- 
cers with  hi"-h-sounding  titles,  were  also  created  for  the  benefit  of 
the  poverty-stricken  colony.  In  the  same  month,  nine  ships,  com- 
manded by  Newport,  and  carrying  five  hundred  people,  under 
command  of  Sir  Thomas  Gates  and  Sir  George  Somers,  sailed  from 
En"^land,  leaving  Delaware  to  follow  with  fresh  recruits.  These  three 
difniitaries,  by  a  singular  piece  of  folly,  all  embarked  in  the  same  ship, 
with  all  their  papers,  and  a  great  part  of  the  provisions.  In  tbe 
latter  part  of  July,  this  vessel,  "  in  the  tayle  of  a  Ilericano "  (hurricane) 
was  driven  from  the  squadron  and  wrecked  on  the  I'crniudas.  An- 
other foundered  at  sea,  and  the  rest,  in  most  miserable  plight,  and 
without  any  general  commander,  arrived  finally  at  Jamestown. 

Their  arrival  was  the  signal  for  fresh  disorders.     Most  of  the  new 
emi<'-rant.s,  it  would  seem,  were  in  a  manner  the  refuse  of  the  com- 

jjumity "much  fitter   to  spoil  a  commonwealth  than  to  raise  or 

maintain  one."  In  "this  lewd  company,"  it  is  said,  were  "many 
unruly  Gallants,  packed  thither  by  their  friends  to  escape  ill-desti- 
nies"  broken  down  gentlemen,  bankrnjjt  tradesmen,  and  decayeil 

serving-men.  Smith  having  been  deposed  by  the  authoiilies,  and 
their  ofiicers  having  been  shipwrecked  on  the  Dei'mudas,  there  \m 
no  regular  government,  and  the  people  soon  fell  into  a  state  of  an- 
archy, setting  up  and  pulling  down  their  autliorities  almost  daily, 
and  modelling  the  government  after  tiielr  changeable  caprice  and 
fancy.  In  this  strait,  the  more  sensible  entreated  Sniidi  to  resnnie 
the  command,  seeing  that  no  one  had  yet  ariived  to  displace  him, 
He  consented  with  reluctance,  and  a  vigorous  exertion  of  his  wonted 
authority  soon  reduced  these  unruly  spirits  to  something  like  order 
and  obedience. 


1 


T¥E  SETTLEMENT   OF 


VIRGINIA. 


67 


CHAPTSB   I, 


PUTILE  ATTEMPTS   AT   POUNDING   NEW   SFTTIPvr.v 
AX.)    OJKSTINACY    OP    THE   C  OLON  1ST  s  I"    'T.  '°^'" 

other  ..,.le,„.„^  a°„d  „  trdred'  'nJrT  *°"'*'  '''^'  *"  ?'»"' 
imeinptetl  to  found  a  colony  It  N,„«„  j  1  ^^  '"™'  ""•'"  «•■"■«", 
of  .l..|r  c„„„n„nder  and  ^ ^;":^\^:'^<^'T'''''^^y 

|)ioved  a  complete  failure  A  lil-,.  ";,  /  ^"'lians,  the  scheuio 
proceeded  to  the  Falls  of  Jan.c«  rI  eH^:;  ^  ""TT  '""'^'^ 
spot  exposed  to  inundations  and  othcT  in  Iv  '^  ^'"''^'^  "^^^^  ^ 
them  a  better  locality,  Smith  a  led  with  Pn  rf"':'"  ^^  ^^^^^-^^^^ 
of  h,,s  town  of  the  s^n.e  narnf  1  '  w  "^  '"  5°' *^^  P^^^'^-^« 
Ws:  "but  both  this  excelL;  ;  Le';^^^^^^^  ^-^/"^  ^^"  the 
du  thee  furies  refuse,  eonternninrSh  "L  "  fl  ""'^'"" 
authontie."     I'o  i^ersnade  them  tn  .  ,      '  ^""'^«  ''^^^«  and 

only  live  companies,  C^l^nTTl  'V""'''^  ^^^^'^^  -^h 
Hmself  to  his  l,arge,  where  for  2  i        f  '^"''^"''^  *"  ^^^^^^^^ 

then,  .ore  sensiWe  an  ^trt^d'  ';r'^.^^^^' ^-P^'^^  to  find 
complaints  of  their  violence  and  intt  '^*  ^f""-^'  the  continual 
Indians.  He  «„,„,.  J  "^  dotn't  •'  "^'t  ^^  ^''^  "-gl^bouring 
oailed  by  news  tha't  tihe  avt:  Hd  :;:':',  T.^  ^^^"^^"^'^  ^^- 
"umber.  Unstenin^.  back  he  found  Vf  *^'"''  ''^"^  "^''"^d  a 
rcnoved  them  to  tire  n  a  [ers  j^^^d  T  ';^"^'""^  ^"""^^  -^^ 
i"deed,  they  did  not  long  emb  !"'''•?  ''"^''"^^"''  -^ere, 
their  ill-chosen  position  '       ^"'°'  ^"'^^  «'^'''"S«  "bstinaey, 

e^'o-rX!;?  ^  -fie  i,iu^,.,„  ,,, 

-'-P.  bnrr.in,  1 'u.  sev  C  d  sen  T"^''  '"  "''"'^  '^  ^^^ 
.i-"Pe.l  overboard  to  Z  1'  1  >^  "  '^  '^''^  ^^°^''--  "« 
fmnulrowning.     Carrie  iTn.h'     ■^''''  ^^''^''  '^'^■'^''Ity  saved 

trate  on  a  bed  of  siokne  d    o,:      1  7^''^''  ^"  '''''  '^^''^  P''"- 

"-i".^  the  iVesident ::;;.:.  t,,  ^    ^^  -"^--ts,  it  is  Lid, 

"  "^'^"'''  '^"^I  "eere  bereft  of  his  senses 


■    N 


68 


TlIK  TKOPLE'S   BOOK    OK   IIISTOKY, 


by  reason  of  his  torMicnt,  plotted  to  murder  liim  in  his  bod.  But 
his  heart  did  Itiile  him  that  should  have  given  fire  to  that  inerci- 
Icsse  pistoll." 

The  president,  his  active  and  energetic  career  thus  lamentably 
arrested,  and  knowing  that  the  arrival  of  any  of  the  delayed  oiTicials 
would  at  once  supplant  his  authority,  now  resolved  to  proceed  to 
Mngland  for  surgical  aid.  Early  in  the  autumn  of  KJOO,  he  set  sail, 
leaving  at  Jamestown  and  the  other  A''irginia  posts  four  Imiidrud 
and  ninety  people,  well  supplied  with  arms,  j)rovision,  and  tliu 
means  of  cultivation  and  improvement. 

"It  is  almost  impossible  to  over-estimate  the  services  of  this  remark- 
able man  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  American  empire.  Tho 
brilliant  feats  of  arms  which  he  so  often  performed,  and  the  deadly 
perils  which  he  so  often  encountered,  are  little  in  comparison  with 
the  untiring  zeal,  the  ever-watchful  foresight,  and  the  sagacious 
policy,  by  which,  for  years,  he  sustained,  on  his  single  arm,  the 
entire  weight  of  the  existence  of  the  colony.  Incompetency  of  his 
emplo^au's,  mutin\-  among  his  followers,  the  hostility  of  powerful 
tribes,  sickness,  privations,  and  famine  itself,  were  all  remedied  or 
conquered  by  his  almost  unaided  exertions. 

"llude  and  violent  as  he  often  was  toward  the  offending  natives, 
no  white  man,  perhaps,  ever  so  far  conciliated  the  favour  and  gained 
the  respect  of  the  Indian  race.  His  very  name,  long  after,  was  a 
sjiell  of  power  among  them,  and  had  he  remained  in  Virginia  a  few 
years  longei',  the  memorable  massacre  which,  in  1622,  proved  an 
almost  fatal  blow  to  the  settlements  in  that  country,  would,  it  is 
probable,  never  have  been  perpetrated.  The  wi'etched  condition  of 
the  colony,  immediately  after  his  departure,  may  be  given  in  the 
rude  but  graphic  language  of  one  wiio  shared  its  misfortunes. 

'"Now  we  all  found  the  losse  of  Captaine  Sini/li,  yea,  his  greatest 
maligners  could  now  curse  his  losse;  as  for  come,  i)rovision,  and 
contribution  from  the  Salvages,  we  had  nothing  but  niortall  wounds, 
with  clubs  and  arrows;  as  for  our  Hogs,  Hens,  Goates,  Sheoiie, 
Uorse,  or  what  lived,  our  commanders,  officer?',  and  tlie  Salvages 
daily  consumed  them,  (some  small  proportion  sometimes  we  tasted,) 
till  all  was  devoured;  then  swords,  arms,  pieces,  or  anything  we 
trao;'d  with  tlie  Salvages,  whose  cruell  fingers  were  su  oft  ini- 
brewed  in  our  blouds,  that,  what  by  their  <;rueltie,  oin-  Govcrnour's 
indiscretion  and  the  losse  of  our  ships,  of  five  hundred,  within  six 
moneths  after  Captnine  Snn't/i's  departure,  there  remained  not  past 


TIIK   SKTTLKMKNT   OF  VIKGINIA.  qq 

sixtio  n>on  wo,non,  a.d  clulclrcn,  nuxst  nusorable  and  poore  crea- 
tures; -ukI  tho«o  w..re  preserved,  for  the  n.o.t  part,  by  rootcrLrbes 
wa  u.ts  acon.cs,  now  and  theu  a  little  fish;  thc/thut  luad  1  I  in 
such  cxtj'cniitios  made  iiu  siuall  us.,  r.r  if  ■   v  ,  .7  ' 

of  our  IIor.scs.     Nay    so  2^  w.  .        '  T  '  ''"I  ''^'  "''^  '^''""'^"^ 

.slow  aiul  buried,  tl  '^oret  ^ort  to  l-.r-  "'  '''"'  ""  '''''''"^'  '"' 

„  I  c.  ,T  1    r  ^  -sort  tooke  lum  up  agame  and  eate  hitn 

..u     o  d,d  d.vers  one  another,  boyled  and  stewed  with  rootc.  a  d 

'  w.'f  ""'  rr^^'  '''"  '-'''  ^^'J  ^^i'l"  J^i«  wife,  powd  red" 

(p:ck  e  )  "her,  and  had  oaten  part  of  her  before  it  was'k  owt  for 

winch  hce  was  executed  a.s  hee  well  deserved     *     *     This T  s  th 
tunc  wh.eh  std   to  this  day  we  eall  'the  starving  tia.e';  it  ^ere   oo 
v.lo  to  say,  and  scarce  to  bee  beleeved  wl.at  w^  endu  ed;  but    he 
occasion  was   oure   own,   for  want   of  providence,  Industrie    and 
govennncnt.  '   ^'"^^^''^it',   ana 

oft.^n,  the  foundation  of  a  conunonwcalth  in  the  wilderness  mu  t  bo 
laKl-nnsIortunes  at  tunes  hardly  avoidable,  but,  as  in  the  present 


CHAPTEB   IL 

MEMOIR  OF  SMFTir,  CONTINUED  AND  CONCLUDED  -ins  VOYAGE 
TONKWEN,n,AND   AND   .SHUVE YS.-I„s   SECOND   EX         HTION 

-i  IN    GK1;AT    EXERTIONS    FOR    THE   SETTLEMENT    Of' 
M,n    t>(iLAND.  — IXTERESTINO   INTEIIVIEW   liETWEEN 
hMITlI    AND    POCAHONTAS    IN     E  NO  I,  A  N  D  — L  A  ST 
YEARS    OF    SM,T]..-„rs    D  E  A  T  H,-„  I  s   C  11  A  li- 
ACTER    AND    ACHIEVEMENTS. 


to  connca  the  fortunes  of  the  Old  World  with  the  New  ^    rivin. 

^^a.,  of  tra^el,  and  of  adversity  served  in  his  career  as  a  colonist, 
*  Uibcoveiurs,  &,e.,  of  America. 


70 


THK   I'KOl'J,  K'S   BOOK   OF   lllSTOKY. 


i 


it  may  Tiot  bo  [imiss  to  give  a  few  particiilm-s  of  tlie  rcinaiiuler  of  liis 
active  and  usel'ul  life-  especially  as  that  lif(>,  to  its  end,  was  niainly 
and  unweariedly  deyotcnl  to  the  task  of  promoting  Am(^ricaii  din- 
eovory  and  colonization,  in  March  of  lOld,  we  again  lind  liini,  ii\ 
eom})any  with  some  merchants  of  London,  fitting  ont  an  exiicditiou 
to  New  Kngland,  in  two  vessels,  one  of  which  he  coinniandcu  in 
person.  By  the  last  of  yV})ril,  he  arrived  at  the  ishuul  of  .\fauiu,'giii| 
on  the  coast  of  Maine,  where  ho  huilt  seven  boats,  and  mnde  un 
nnsneccssful  attempt  at  whale-lishing.  The  crews,  with  nuich  Ijdlor 
sueee.>^s,  were  therefore  set  to  work  at  catching  and  curing  (uid,  wliilo 
Smith,  with  eight  men,  in  a  small  boat,  snrveyed  and  mapped  out 
the  coast,  from  Penobscot  to  Cape  Cod.  In  his  chart,  he  had  mostly 
given  the  original  Indian  names,  but,  with  a  natural  desire  to  com- 
memorate his  own  advetitures,  had  inserted  a  I'cw  otheis  drawn  from 
that  fertilt^  source,  (.'ape  Ann  was  called  Cape  'rragabig/.mulii,  in 
honour  of  his  young  mistress  of  Constantinople,  and  tin;  isles  of 
Shoals  were  l..id  down  as  "'J'lie  S  Tiirkes'  Ilcuids."  At  his  re(}iiost, 
however,  J'rince  (aftiM'wards  king)  Charles,  changed  most  of  these 
names  to  those  of  Knglish  localities,  which  are  still  retained. 

Having  procured  by  trailic  an  iumiensc  (piantity  of  beaver  iind 
other  furs  from  tlie  Indians,  (with  whom,  also,  he  had  two  lights,) 
in  August  he  returned  to  Knglnnd,  l(>aving  his  consort.  Captain 
Thomas  Hunt,  to  continue  the  lishing  and  carry  the  cargo  to  Spain. 
That  scoundrel,  at  his  dcjiarture,  in  the  words  of  Smith,  "botraicd 
i'oure  and  twentic  of  those  })Oore  Salvages  aboord  his  Ship,  and  most 
dishonestlv  and  inhuniantdy,  for  their  kind  treatment  of  me  and  all 
our  men,  carried  them  with  him  to  .l/((//7()"  (Malagn),  "and  there  for 
a  little  private  gaine  sold  those  silly  Salvagi^s  for  rials  of  eight;  but 
this  vilde  act  kept  him  ever  after  from  any  more  iniploinieiit  to  these 
parts."  To  this  cruel  and  treacherous  act,  as  to  those  of  a  simiktr 
miture,  committed  by  the  h'reneh  in  their  voyages  to  Canada,  may 
be  attributed  much  of  the  hostility  experienced  by  later  coniers  in 
settling  the  country. 

At  Plynn)uth,  to  wliieh  Snnth  next  came,  lie  found  the  people 
still  "interested  in  tlie  dead  patent  of  this  uui'egarded  countrey" 
(New  England),  and  was  easily  induced  to  undertake  a  voyage  for 
the  comjnmy  of  that  port,  rejecting,  with  honourable  promptitiule, 
the  proposals  of  the  \'irginia  Company,  who  would  now  gladly  have 
availed  themselves  of  his  services.  In  March,  Kilo,  he  sailed  for 
America  with  two  small  vessels,  ou  a  voyage  which  was  but  one 


TiiK  skttm.;mi.;nt  ok  vikoinia.  ^^ 

I     l;"fi  "'  ""'■'>••■■""  K""» l-'li".!  hor  »„  l„,,v,,ly  will,  ™  vfi  , 

.1^.1.  .N';  >|-w  were  „„.„.,1  „,.„  u,„,  ,,„„^„i,„,,  s!,,it,     :     V       ; 

j     ;-  "•;  I    »1  ,crvo,  .year,  before,-  „n,bul,ly  i„  tl,„  |.  «.., 

ll.tj  l.csK'»l  liiiii  l„  fall,,  ll„,  „„i,„„,„„i  „,■  ,|,„ir  ,,,,,,,„,•  ,  • 

,     .y,.     jNc  u  I  a>.tJ,  ho  lu,l  a  I.^W.t  with  two  Frond.  pirutoH,  who,,.  L 
,     co,„,„.Ilcd  h,s  0,-ow  to  rosLst,  threatening  to  blow  u,   the  vcs  h  r 

J        I         '""(-)  •'"   Liicie  was  a  chiirtre  of  nowJ,.!.  i.>r'.      i         i 

»::;::i:it;;z,-;v:::;:7r;4^^^^ 
...«.».  «»ur  ,.:,,«,,„,,,  ,1:;::::^  ;tc;:r;;:;:r2::t 

I     m,.«,i  l,c,r,  ro,„.,„„.  .s„,i.|,,  ,„  „      „„„„„„  « -         ' 

uiiiii,,,,^  and  plu doi'iii"'  i,i;j,iu  v..cu,.io   1.       ■       1.    •  ,  ' 

Tl,e  v.„y  ,iMl„-«„t  lisl,t  i„  whicl,  ,l,o  ,y.,n\,y  ca,.t„i„  rc.,,rclca 
llio>t  i,o„rc  „,oi,  of  all  tU-v  l,a,|  .,„,]  |,.,|,;.  ,,    •    ,  ,  ""  l""-'S« 

i»™ll    o,,ll!  V''''T    "'  "■""  "'■>"'■''•=  ■"-"•'li'yat  tl,is  „„e 


72 


TUE  I'KorLK'S  HOOK   OV  lllSTOKVT. 


roganli'd  as  un  uiicoininoiily  lioiicst  aiul  uprij^lit  man — views  these 
Hcenos  of  iiiniti(.:al  iiluiidcr — always  pruvklcd  that  tho  subjoct  ol"  them 
were  not  an  Mnglislmuui. 

Ilia  oaptors  promised  him  ten  thonaand  crowns  as  tho  reward  of 
Iiis  skill  and  valour;  yet  when  they  arrived  at  Uoehellc,  knowiiii,' 
his  dcteruiiiied  eharacter,  and  dreading  his  vengeance,  still  kept  hiia 
l)rist)n('r.  lii  a  terrible  storm,  however,  which  drovo  thorn  all  under 
liatehes,  (and  wliich,  that  same  night,  destroyed  tho  ship,  with  half 
her  eomitany),  he  made  his  escape  in  a  small  boat,  and,  after  heiii;,' 
driven  to  sea  and  enduring  great  peril  and  sulVcring,  was  found,  hall 
dead,  by  some  Fowlers,  on  an  oo/y  island,  and  was  brought  ashore 
and  kindly  relieved. 

Returning  home,  he  ]>nblished  a  boolc  on  New  England,  which  lie 
had  written  to  beguile  the  weariness  of  his  cajjtivity,  and,  with 
ONtraordinary  activity,  travelling  through  tho  west  of  England,  diy 
tributod  seven  thousand  copies-  of  it  among  people  of  note  and  inllu- 
enee.  "But  all,"  ho  says,  "availed  no  more  than  to  hew  rocks  with 
Oyster  shells."  lie  received,  however,  an  abundance  of  proiiiiscMuf 
aid  in  the  enter[)rise  of  settling  that  country,  and  was  invested  hy 
the  Plymouth  company  with  the  title  of  "Admiral  of  Now  England." 
These  encouragements  all  ended  in  words,  no  active  steps  being  tukeii 
for  the  furlheranee  of  the  object  which  ho  had  so  much  at  heart. 

A  most  interesting  interview  between  Smith  and  Pocahontas,  about 
this  time,  is  recorded.  That  noble-hearted  princess,  despite  the  great 
alleetion  which  her  father  bore  to  hei',  had  incurred  his  displeasure 
by  her  repeated  acts  of  kindness  in  behalf  of  tho  English,  and  was 
living  exiled  from  his  coart,  under  the  pri^lectiou  of  .Japazaws,  chief 
of  tho  Potomacs.  That  treachei'ous  dignitary,  bribed  by  a  copper 
kettle,  entrapped  her  on  board  the  ves.sel  ol  Captain  Argall,  who, 
notwithstanding  her  tears  and  lamentations,  made  her  jirisoner,  and 
took  her  to  Jamestown — informing  her^iiilher  that  she  could  be  run- 
somed  only  by  the  delivery  of  numerous  arms,  &c.,  which  his  people 
had  stolen  from  the  English.  "This  vnwelcome  newes,"  .sivs  the 
chronicler,  "much  troubled  J'oicliu/un,  because  lieo  loved  both  his 
daughter  and  our  commodities  well."  Alter  an  alteriuition  of  war 
and  negotiation,  the  matter  was  at  last  happily  settled  in  a  inaiuier 
more  agreeable  than  either. 

"Long  before  this,"  continues  the  narrative,  "Master  lohn  Kolfe, 
an  honest  Gentleman  and  of  good  behavior,  liad  beene  in  love  witli 
PuL-alioiitas,  and  she  with  him,  which  resolution  Sir  Thomas  Dale 


10  reward  of 


'rilK   Sl.TTI.K.MKNT   (1'   VI  k. I 


iV  I  A . 


7a 

well  npprovod;  the  bruit  (vi'iuu'i\  ,.c  n  • 

u„,!.i..,,r«,„.„.;i';i:;;;^;l::,r':-^;;;;;;™.;;;^^ 

i  ,  aid  two  of  Ins  houh,  to  koo  t  k!  niunticr  of  (l,o 
nuina,.  and  to  doo  ,n  tl.at  h.-haUb  what  they  wore  rot 
the  conlinnatioii  thcnn.f  „s  Iiis.L.nn.;         i  •  i  ^"l»^''^li;d,  for 

.«*»,«  n,„c„l,l,  ,,»„„„,„„i„l  Si,.  Tl„„„„„  „,  K„„|„„  I*  s  : 

Icnracd  l.,„gl„l,,  ,„„1  ,„l„,,i,„|  ci,risti„„itv  a,„l  "w?.  » 

"'«;";""-.  »i*  «"»..ci„„,  „„ti .fL   , ."  -v    :^^ 

MV.II  .-i/KT  ,mr  l.:„gli.,l,  ,„„ ,,.,     ^,        I     s,  ,i,l     /!  j 

1  .■  ^  .rg,.i...,  c,,I„„y  ,„„I  1,„,„„„,„  ,,„  „,„„„^  ,.„.  ,1    '7,  ^.i;,  '. 

^'"''"Pl"'j,  <^>' account  of  tlic  ridiculous  iealon^v  of  T,.       t    /   ^ 

.'I'ce  could  spcako  EnoJish  *       ^4>cnting  myself  to  have  wr,t 

ln'crnn  tr.  fnli-  1      "         ",  •''"*■  ""*^  ""'I-''  after  she 


7i 


TICK   I'KOI'LK'S    HnOK   o  !•     IIISTOUV 


because  slie  was  a  King's^  rlaiiglitcr,  with  a  well  sot  coniit(?iinnce  she 
said,  'Were  you  not  afraid  to  come  into  my  father's  countrio  and 
ciinae  I'oare  in  him  and  all  his  people  (but  mee),  and  fcnre  you  here 
1  shonM  call  you  father?  I  tell  you  then  T  will,  and  you  shall  call 
inee  childe,  and  so  1  will  bee  for  over  and  over  your  countryman.'" 

This  prudent  conduct  of  Smith  and  her  other  friends,  it  woidil 
seem,  allayed  the  absurd  jealousy  of  James;  for,  he  continues  "it 
pleased  both  the  King  and  Queene's  mairsty  honorably  to  esteemo 
her,  accompanied  by  ''.  i,  '  onorable  .La<ly,  the  Lady  Ih  la  Wdrre 
and  that  honorable  Lord,  her  husband,  and  divers  other  persons  of 
good  quality,  both  publikely  at  the  maskes  and  otherwise,  to  her 
great  satisfaction  and  content,  which  doubtless  she  would  have  de- 
served, had  she  ever  lived  to  arrive  in  Virginia."  She,  died  at 
(iravcsend,  on  her  way  home,  in  the  foHou  iiig  year,  at  the  a<'-e  of 
twenty-two,  leaving  a  son,  from  whom  a  numerous  race  of  descend- 
ants have  been  derived.  "Among  them  was  the  celebrated  Jolin 
Randolph  of  Eoanoke — ;justly  prouder  of  his  descent  from  the  old 
imperial  race  of  Powhatan,  illustrated  by  the  more  gentle  heroism  of 
his  daughter,  than  he  could  have  been  of  the  noblest  derivation  from 
European  ancestry." 

Li  1017,  Captain  Smith  had  been  assured  1  y  the  Plymouth  Corn- 
]>any  that  he  should  be  sent  out,  with  a  fleet  of  twenty  ships,  to 
found  a  colony  in  New  England;  but  this  promise  never  was  ful- 
fdled,  though  he  was  unwearied  in  his  exertions  to  incite  his  coun- 
trymen to  American  enterprise.  When,  in  1()22,  news  came  of  the 
teriible  massai're  devised  by  Opechancanough,  (see  chapter  XIIL)  he 
proposed  to  the  Virginia  Company  that  if  they  would  but  allow 
him  an  hundred  and  thirty  men,  "to  imploy  onely  in  ranging  the 
C(Mintrics  and  tormenting"  (harassing)  "the  Salvages,"  their  whole 
teriitory  should  be  kept  in  peace  and  security;  but  they  rejected 
the  oll'rr,  as  involving  a  necessity  for  too  great  expense.  Another 
terrible  massacre,  a  few  years  later,  was  the  result  of  this  short- 
sighted policy. 

In  the  following  _year,  we  .iid  the  cptaiu  before  a  royal  coininis- 
sion,  giving  his  evidence  and  opinion  concerning  the  uiifurtuiiiite 
colony  with  much  shrewdness,  candour,  and  charity.  Of  the  last  few 
years  of  his  lift;  little  is  known.  He  lived,  it  is  belieyed,  in  quiet 
icpose  in  the  city  of  London,  enq)loycd  chiefly  in  writing  and  pub- 
lishing, lie  was  engaged  on  a  "History  of  the  Sea,"  when,  in  WSl, 
death  closed  a  career  in  which  utility  and  romance  were  perhaps 


J 


THE  8ETTLKMENT  U 1-'   VIKUINIA. 


75 


more  closely  and  continuou.sly  united  than  in  any  other  of  whiel.  a 
record  bus  survived. 

•^In  the  whole  history  of  adventure,  diseovery,  and  exploration, 

.a    that  of  Upturn  John  S.nith.     To  uh  ho  has  always  upr,can-d 
(to  ins  v-ery  name  and  tulcO  the  finest  and  n.ost  perfeet  exen'.plur  of 
a  bo  I  hnghshrnan  that  ever  fiyured  on  the  stage  of  the  world      lu 
h>s  cliaractor,  bravery,  fortitude,  sagacity,  and  sound  common  sense 
.ere  so  happdy  ten.pucd  and  united  as  to  comnu-u.d  instinct" 
cspcct;  whde  the  toloral^Iy-inihscd  tincture  of  impetuosity,  prdu- 
dice,  and  self  wdl,  scen.s  only  to  lend  a  piquancy  to  his    vorth  or 
ru,ts,  and  more  finely  to  set  oft'  the  national  charaetoristir 
love  of  enterpnso  and  his  daring,  chivalrous  spirit,  were  tempered 
w.th  a  judgment,  moderation,  and  humanity,  which,  iu  so  rou-^h  a 
career,  have  never  been  surpassed.     The  cutter-olf  of  Turks'  h  °ids 
to  desperate  Indian  fighter,  and  the  sworn  foe  to  the  Spaniard  is 
all  compassion  and  sympathy  when  the  'Silly  Salvages'  are  kidnap- 
pad  by  his  treacherous  eountr3-man,  or  when  the  'poore  clothes'  of 
a  small  Englishman  'are  sold  by  outcry  at  the  main-mast  of  a  ,>irate 
In  early  youth,  h,s  grand  passion  was  for  fighting  and  renown' 
no  .nutter  on  what  field,  so  that  a  man  of  honour  miglten^a  '       I  a 
maturer  years,  the  noble  passion  for  founding  uation^  and  ^pnidi,,. 
civihp^ation  took  a  yet  firmer  possession  of  his  soul.     '  Who  '  he  ex° 
chuuis  m   his  manly  address  to  the  idlers  of  England,  'who  c-m 
dcsn-e  more  content  that  hath  sn.all  means,  or  only  h  s  merit  to 
advance     ,s  fortunes,  than  to  tread  and  plant  that  ground  he  hath 
purchased  by  the  hazard  of  his  life;  if  hee  have  btt  the  taste  o 
vertue  and  magnanimU.e,  what  to  sueh  a  mind  can  bee  more  pleas- 
ant than  p],u.t.ng  and  building  a  foundation  for  his  posteritv    ^ot 
fa™  the  rude  earth  by  God's  blessing  and  his  owne  ind^ll^y  ^i,    ' 
ou    prejudice  to  any;  if  hee  have  any  graine  of  faith  or  z  ale  m 
Ee  ,mo„,  what  can  hee.  doe  lesse  hurtfull  to  any  or  more  a^n-eeable 

Chrtr'an  1^;  '°  "f"  '?  "'"^^''^  ^''^'^^  poore'salvages  to  k 
Chnst  and   humanity,   whose   labors,   with   discretion^  will  triply 
uvard  thy  charge  and  paine;  what  so  truly  sutes  with  honor  and 
^'""esty  as  the  discovering  things  vnknqwne,  erecting  Tou-nes  p  o 
pln,g  countries,  informing  the  ignorant,  reforming  things  ulik^st 
eac  nng  vertue  and  guinc  to  our  native  mother  clunt,;    to Td 
M^onnent  for  those  that  are  idle,  because  they  know'i'iot  w    t 
to  doc,  so  farre  from  wronging  any,  as  to  cause  postority  to  re- 


J 


76 


TlIK    I'KOl'I.  K'S    HOOK    OK    IllS'l'OIiV 


inenibcr  tliom,  and  rotneinbcriiig  tlioo,  over  honor  tliiit  iVMionibrunce 
witli  pniiHc' 

'"I'lio  full  iMcritH  of  Sniitli,  ns  tlio  earliest  and  moat  indefntigublc 
l>romolcr  ofllic  eDloniziition  of  New  Knglund,  have  never  been  ado- 
([natidy  nppreeiatod.  }\y  his  pernonal  oxertiona  in  the  survey,  delin- 
eation, and  (h'seription  of  that  ncj^lected  region,  and  by  the  continual 
pul)li((ationH  wliicli,  at  great  pains  and  expense,  he  induMtrioUHly  cir- 
ciliated  in  lMi,i;laiHl,  lie  awakened  the  publie,  interest  in  an  enteriuiso 
wliieli,  otherwise,  lor  many  years  n\iglit  have  been  slighted  uiul 
deferred.  He  lived  to  see  the  foundations  of  a  great  nation  firiuly 
laid,  both  at  the  soutli  and  the  north,  and,  though  like  many  other 
great  i)r()j(>etors  and  labourers  in  the  same  field  of  aetiou,  he  reapeil 
no  personal  advantage  (but  rather  much  loss)  from  his  exertion  ami 
enterprise,  ho  continued,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  to  regard  the  two 
colonies  with  the  foi]d  partiality  of  a  parent,  and  to  do  all  he  eonlj 
fur  their  advaneement.  'IJy  that  acquaintance  I  have  with  them,'  ho 
writes,  'I  call  them  my  Children,  for  they  have  becne  my  Wife,  my 
Hawks,  Ilounda,  my  Cards,  my  Dice,  and  in  totall,  my  best  content 
as  indifferent  to  my  heart  as  my  left  luuid  to  my  right.  And  not- 
withstanding all  those  miracles  of  disasters  whieh  have  crossed  l)oth 
them  and  me,  yet,  were  there  not  an  Englishman  remaining  (as,  God 
be  thanked,  notwithstanding  the  massacre,  there  are  some  thousand.s); 
1  would  yet  begin  againe  with  as  small  meanes  as  \  did  at  lir.«t,  not 
that  1  have  any  secret  encouragement,  (I  protest)  more  than  lament- 
able experience,'  &c. 

"It  only  remains  to  add  that,  .ilthough,  .so  far  as  we  are  informed, 
never  married,  the  gallant  eai)tain  was,  and  deservedly,  a  general 
favourite  with  the  ladies.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  certain  man- 
hood and  kindliness  in  his  very  look,  whieh,  almost  at  a  glance, 
conciliated  to  him  the  good-will  of  the  fairer  and  weaker  portion  of 
hunuinity.  These  favours,  so  llattering  to  the  natrral  vanity  of  man, 
he  bears  worthily,  and  with  no  ollenec  to  the  givers,  ever  speaking 
with  the  utmost  modesty  and  gratitude  of  the  kindness  he  had  so 
ofu'u  experienced  at  their  hands.  Ilis  acknowledgment  to  the  sex 
(introduced  in  his  dedication  to  the  Duchess  of  liiehmond)  reminds 
us  of  the  eelebrated  eulogy  pronounced  by  Lcdyard.  '1  eonfesse,' 
he  writes,  'my  hand,  though  able  to  wield  a  weapon  among  the 
Barbarous,  yet  well  may  tremble  in  handling  a  pen  before  so  many 
Judlrious  *  *  Yet  my  comfort  is,  tliat  heretofore  honorable  and 
vertuoiis  Lmlii"-;  ami  comparable  but  among  them  selves,  have  offered 


TMK   MKTTLKMKNT   (.K   VIK.JINIA.  yy 

parts  I  have  folt  rol.ofb  from  that  Hox.-Tho  bouutoou.s  Lu.ly  Tn.Ka- 
H^uuh,  wlK...  I  was  a  hIuvo  to  tl,o  Turke«,  di.l  all  ,U.  Lm  L 

noa.H.t.eH.     In  tl.o  vtrnost  of  many  extroMutios  that  bLsl  d  Vod 


.ta«    tho  great    v.ng's  dunghtor  .f  Virginia,  oft  „aved  n.y  lii;. 
\he     r  osc-apod  the  crueltio  of  I'irats  and  .nont  furious  stormcs  a 
ong  fme  alone  u.  u  H,nall  Bout  at  Sc-a,  and  driven  ashore  in  Fran;e 
tho  good  Lady  Madam  Chanoycs  bountifully  assisted  me  '  "* 


ARRIVAL  OP  OATES.-MISKIIABLK  CONDITION  OF  THB  COLONY 
-.lAMKSTOWN    I.KSKrrKl,,-A,MUVAL   0.    ,,,MU,    .  K  ,,  .  W    O 
OF    SMt   THOMAS    ..A,,,.;.--,;xKltT,ONS    OP    ■UU.   ,,SU' A\ 
-INCKEASKI)  IMMKJRATION.-TIIK  CULTl'KK  OF  TOHU'CO  " 
INTROI.UCK..,   AND  >;aOK1U,Y  IM/RHUKD.-T  VUA  N  N  Y  OP 
AROALL:  HIH  0  ISPf,  AOKM  KNT.— „  R  li  AT  ACCESSION  OP 
IMMHJRANTS.  —  WIVES  PURCIIASKD  WITH  TODACOO 
—  LIBERAL  CONCESSIONS  TO  THE  COLONISTS, 

The  lamentable  condition  of  the  Virginian  eolony,  after  tho  de- 
ar ore  of  Snnth,  has  been  deseribed.     Thirty  of  the  sLttlens,  soi.in. 
s  IP  had  turned  p,ratos,  and  tho  greater  part  of  the  re maindoT 
ponsh,.!  of  fanune,  d.s.ase  or  Indian  hostility.     When  Sir  Thon.a 
Gates  and  h,s  eon>pan,on..  who  had  been  wreeked  on   Bern.n 
not   '     :'r\  "  r"^*^'^  "'  ''''''  "^^'"  --truetion,  (Afay" 
«>x)  ren.auuHl,  and  tiu.se  in  a  eondition  of  sneh  misery  tint  th  ir 
n    was  almost  at  hand.     There  .seemed  no  alternative'  b      to 
v.th  all  speed  for  Newfoundland,  and  there  seek  a.ssi.stan  e  A-om    he 

I  Mro  o    the  settlers  to  fire  th.-ir  .le.serted  dwellings,)  Gates    with 
;-  P«^o  and  the  .elics  of  the  Virginian  eolony,  Xded'd::!; 

*  Di.scoverorH,&c.,  of  America. 


78 


THE    PEOl'LE'S  BOOK  OF  IIISTOKY. 


Tlie  very  next  morning  (June  lOtli,  IGIO)  they  learned  tliut  Lord 
Delaware  had  arrived  on  the  coast  with  supplies,  and,  putting  about 
returned  with  all  speed  to  Jamestown.  The  new  governor,  a  man 
of  high  character  and  good  judgment,  by  his  wholesome  rule,  and 
by  the  suj)plies  which  he  brouglit,  soon  restored  comparative  com- 
fort to  the  little  colony,  which,  at  this  time,  including  the  company 
of  Gates  and  his  own  emigrants,  did  not  exceed  two  hundred  souls- 
but  on  account  of  illness,  was  compelled,  the  same  year,  to  quit 
Virginia,  leaving  the  administration  in  the  hands  of  ^[r.  Percy.  lu 
May  of  the  next  year,  (1611,)  Sir  Tliomas  Dale,  dispatched  thitlicr 
witli  fi'esli  supplies,  arrived,  and  assumed  the  government. 

Sir  Thomas  Gates,  who  had  also  repaired  to  England,  by  his 
urgent  representations,  excited  the  company  to  fresh  exertions 
and  in  August  of  the  same  year,  with  six  ships,  bearing  tlirec  hun- 
dred more  emigrants  and  a  hundred  cattle,  he  arrived  at  Jamestown 
and  assumed  the  office  of  governor.  The  colony  now  numbered 
seven  hundred. 

In  1(512,  by  a  fresh  patent,  the  Bermudas  and  all  other  islands 
within  three  hundred  leagues  of  Virginia,  were  included  in  that 
province,  and  lotteries  were  authorized  for  the  benefit  of  the  com- 
pany. The  pros])erity  of  the  colony  improved,  and  its  peaceful 
relations  with  the  Indians  seemed  secured  by  the  marriage  of  Kolfc 
and  Pocahontas,  wliich  took  place  about  this  time — a  propitious 
event,  re^'ulting  in  tlie  alliance  not  only  of  Poichatan  and  his  people, 
but  of  the  Chiekaliominies  and  otlier  tribes. 

In  the  account  of  Awulia,  mention  lias  b(?en  made  of  the  atrocious 
and  piratical  expedition  from  Virginia,  under  Cajitain  Samuel  Ar- 
gall,  destroying  tlie  little  colony  of  Port  Eoyal,  the  first  settlement 
of  the  Fivnch  in  North  America.  That  unprincipled  commander 
on  his  return,  also  entered  the  luirbour  of  Manhattan  (New  York), 
and  enfijrced  a  show  of  submission  from  the  little  colony  of  Hol- 
landers inhabiting  the  island  of  that  name.  In  1614,  Sir  Tliomas, 
ai)pointing  Dale  as  governor,  returned  to  England;  and  the  latter, 
two  years  afterwards,  leaving  in  turn  George  Ycardley  as  deputy, 
followed  the  example.  V>y  fiir  the  most  memorable  fact  in  this 
stage  ol'  the  colony's  progress,  is  the  commencement  of  the  culture  of 
•(jbacco,  the  xise  of  which,  adopted  from  the  Indians,  had  been  intro- 
duced into  England.  With  such  industry  did  the  prospect  of  a 
})rofitable  reward  for  labour  insi)ire  the  colonists,  that  the  very 
streets  of  Jamestown  were  planted  with  tobacco. 


THESi^TTLKMENTOFVlKOlNIA. 
In  1617,  the  office  nf  rlorv„+,, 

,»,•  o„  that  ™„  and  u„rs«r:rsr°"fr'  "^  "■"  "">■ 

tall,  of  Lord  Dela,rare-wh„  n,^k    T    '         ""'  ^'Sr^H;  and  tho 
,.a„r,  the  same  yelr  for  vt;,,f,  ?'"*"'=''"''''»"''''"  "o"- 

a...a,  ..™„,  Za  awt^anir;,^:  :''z;''°c:r "''  "- 

a»cl  theirv„r„i.o.  JJtZ^^^CT^rl^'-'^^ 
of  llicsc  excesses  reaching  K„„h„,l  ,      •'^'       "'  °"  "">  "■*<"■' 

tc^t  between  the  dilTereat  ftef  „^^     ..°'  '""■  "**"  "  'P'""<^  «""■ 
-  Yeardle,,  whose  "  J  t    "    J.ottT''""''.^  ''""''°'' 
popular  with  the  settlers,  was  anooS  ,„,,''"  '""''  "'"'°  l"™ 
I    and  considerate  rule  soo^  relred  ^et  ™"'""'°''-    "''"  J™' 

I    ™  permitted  to  e„a;:i:1::  thThoT''"  °'  ''^  f  °°'>'°' 
valid,  unless  ratified  by  the  cornor,«„       .7     "'"'  """■"  °<"  '<>  •»> 

''«""W,a„di„espCl,Si?Mls°„ir;,    ?'  ° ""'"="  "^ 
l'».«  by  the  liberal  pa?.y,  ,1.  used  ^L t'^^    ^'J^""'  "P' 

.fkc  colony  and  the  extension  of  iMbertS  T"  16  V  H  '"°"^ 
only  SIX  hundred  settlors  in  Viririnii  ,n.l  T  '"  "'i*.  "'ere  were 
e.«8ctic  officer  dispatched  ZZrZTitT' I" ","°'°  '""'  """ 
'i«»al  emigrants.     An  hundred  LTflftvv  ""^'"'^  '^'^'■ 

cliaracter,  were  shinned  f„   hi  '  ^°""«  "■""«".  of  good 

'ca.li«ess-the        band,  ,  av  „rtr"°'  ""'  ""=  ""'™<'  »■"''  8™' 

'«nty  pounds  of  tobae L'S  1      rthr  ™"''  "%'""""""  ''' 
porlation.     Ily  1691    tl.re.  H  '  ,   J      '''"P™*  of  their  trans. 

n«l,od  Virginia  ;;,,  the  "  "'"  ''""''"=''  ^'s™""  ''"-l 
*.,  rare  Li^l  '  „  tr^h?"''  "■'*  '"'r''*^  ■""'  f™- 
"."fertng  on  that  provi  °  a  1m  oT^'""^  ""*  -"  ""^'■"'•"^ 
Sowamcnt.    The  Jve  nor  :,'"  "  "■""""•  i"*'PO"dont 

l«»»Wbytl,ecolZ  bT,  1     m"""""'  '"*"''■  ""'■°  '»  bo  V 
ly  .l.e  people,    °tT.7,{;er  l:  :i!fr"''  T""^  "'  '"  '"  '='«-" 

*' -pany-those  'en,;:.i  g™         To^d:  't  m- !'"  ""'■"'"'  °' 

valid  only  on  r-itifin.f       u      ,  -"^"n^o'i,  m  Jiko  maritier,  to  bo 

e™.  bl«-„;;     ifi  f™  ;"-  -I"--'  '"  be  instiluted,  and  the 
Vol  IV.— 34  secured  to  the  first  American  colony.   This 


80 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF    IllSTOKY. 


m.TTnfinimons  concession,  due  to  the  generous  efforts  of  Sontliamp- 
ton,  Sandys,  and  others  of  the  liberal  party,  was  one  of  the  first  and 
most  important  fruits  of  that  spirit  of  progress  at  that  time  just 
beginning  to  make  itself  felt  in  the  English  councils. 


uiiii/liriijiii    axaao 

WYATT   GOVEKNOll. NKORO   SLAVERY    INTRODUCED. — DEATH 

OF    POWHATAN    AND   SUCCESSION   OF   0  P  EC  H  A  N  C  A  NOU  G  II.— 

PLOT    DEVISED   BY   THE   LATTER. TKRUIBLE    MASSACRE 

OP    THE    ENGLISH, DKPRESSION    OF    THE   COLONY. — 

USURPATION    OF    THE    PATENT    BY    JAMES  I. — PRU- 
DENT   POLICY    TOWARD    THE   COLONISTS. 


Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  bearing  the  invaluable  gifl  of  a  constitution, 
arrived  in  Virginia,  as  governor,  in  1621,  The  year  previous,  un- 
happily, had  been  distinguished  by  the  first  introduction  of  slavery 
into  the  colony — a  Dutch  vessel  having  entered  the  James  Hiver, 
and  brought  twenty  negroes  for  sale.  For  a  long  time,  indeed,  this 
nefarious  traffic  made  little  progress — being  principally  carried  on 
by  the  people  who  commenced  it,  and  being  rather  connived  at  than 
favoured  by  the  government  of  the  province. 

The  agricultural  progress  of  Virginia  had  been  grievously  retarded 
by  unsuccessful  eiVorts  at  the  production  of  wine  and  silk— articles 
of  luxury,  the  least  suited  to  a  now  territory  and  a  sparse  population. 
The  profitable  culture  of  tobacco,  and  its  sudden  importance  as  the 
staple  of  Virginian  agriculture,  have  been  noticed;  and  that  of 
cotton,  first  commenced  as  an  experiment,  in  1021,  marks  an  era  in 
the  history  of  American  agriculture  vastly  more  important  yet. 

King  Powhatan,  who,  after  the  English  alliance  of  his  daughter, 
had  been  the  lirm  friend  of  the  colonists,  died  full  of  year.-;,  in  lt!l>i, 
the  year  after  the  death  of  Pocahontas.  Opechancaiiougli,  his 
younger  brother,  succeeded  him  in  the  government  of  thirty  tribes 
which  he  had  ruled.  Apprehensions  of  Indian  hostility,  fmni  a  long 
interval  of  peace,  had  gradually  died  out,  and  the  settlers,  engerfor 
the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  continually  pushed  their  plantations  further 
into  the  wilderness  and  more  remote  from  mutual  aid.    So  completely 


if  a  constitution, 


TIIK   SETTLEMENT    OE 


VniGINlA. 


81 


was  apprehension  allayed    tlmt  a., 

savagesV.dfonnorl,be'etl  tu,te7;:iV  ^""''^  *^  '""^ 

wee  no.  freely  supplied  them  fo  t„  in!  a^T  T^'^^  "'  '"^^' 
It  is  not  easy  to  arrive  at  thp  ^     "*'"°,«"^  ^^^^^'ng- 

population.  appLntly  ^rf^il^^;::;!:  T  "'""'  *^  ^"^-'^ 
indi.scrin,inate  massaere  of  the  ^g  '^^^^^^^^  ^°  --'-  «"  an 
native  tribes,  they  were  jealous  j"^"  .  ^°f  t'«««.  ^^e  all  other 
ancient  domain.  It  is  said  do  that  0",""'  "''''"^^"^  '^  *he. 
otlcnded  by  the  killing  o  It' ^  hi  f  ""''""°' ""'^  "^^^^"^^ 
"Jack  of  the  Feather."^  He  mav  also  1  ""'"'''  councillors,  ealled 
viud,ctiveness,  how  Captain  S^Y^,  ^^"^^'"bered,  with  deep 

"by  the  hayre'of  his  he^d  '^erelin:!^  ''''''''  '''  ''^'  ^- 
with  almost  incredible  seerecy  and  onee"  t^  "I"^""'"  ''"'"'"''' 
the  destruction  of  the  whites.  On  the  22^  ^^  ^^^^^  P'«tted 
noon,  the  Indians,  who  un  to  thp  ^  7  ^^'^'''  ^^22,  about 

pearanceof  cordi;iity  ;j;rl  ;\'::jrr'  "f^^"^'  ''^  ^P" 
fell  on  the  Engli.b  ittlemeat^m t^;y  ItS  "^"j'  ■^■"^"'^T^°""^ 
three  hundred  and  forty-seven  of  fhn      ?  ''  ""^'^«  ^^u''. 

council,  were  massacred;  IndJarnt  ""f'  '"^'"'^"'S  «>-  o{  the 

tations,  was  .saved  only'  I't  e  ti "    !'::  ""-'^  "^^"^  -'J--"g  plan- 
j    wished  to  rescue  an  Engli.sh  fHend  ^ ^  T'-''"'^  "^  ''^"  ^"d''^"  ^ho 
I    The  savages,  who  .eem  lo  hav  ?n  J^^^^^^    T'f  '^'^^'^^'^^on. 
many  instances,  rose  from  tie  ^rv  tb       I'T','"'"^' '^^°^'^^' ''^ 
for  their  dinners,  to  murder  the  f,  '"^  '''^  ^^"  «P^««d 

yet,"  says  the  old  chronLw  "dS  ."'""T^^'^^  ^'^^'^^•^-  "Neither 
the  rest  well  knowne  un,o  lln  fi  T  ''"^'^  ''^^'^^^  *'"-^  among 
-an,  benehts,  but  sphe  ul  v^l  ""  "'""  ^''^^^'  ^'^^  ^^a,ly  received 

;^  the  force  of  good  deedi  tll^Iir  J^LhT  '^^^^  ''''' 

promptitude,  coutribut/d   libcrallv  urir"""r^''  T'^''    '"'""»^*'ble 
unfortunate  ..cttlcrs  ^         '"'  '"'^  ''*"'•  ^""'"fbrt  of  the 


li 


82 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


prise,  was  now  of  importance  clxiefly  as  the  theatre  of  debate  between 
the  liberal  and  arbitrary  factions.  To  suppress  the  former,  soon 
became  an  object  of  royal  jealousy,  and,  in  1622,  the  king  made  an 
unsuccossfid  attempt  to  control  the  election  of  a  treasurer.  In  the 
following  year,  after  the  pretence  of  legal  investigation,  the  patent 
was  declared  forfeited,  and  the  king  resumed  the  authority  into  his 
own  hands.  This  transaction,  though  committed  under  the  guise 
of  law,  cannot  be  regarded  otherwise  than  as  a  piece  of  royal  usurpa- 
tion, dictated  by  jealousy  at  the  republican  tendencies  of  the  majority 
of  the  company.  The  foreign  government  of  Virginia  was  now 
l>laced  in  the  hands  of  a  committee  of  partisans  of  the  court,  which 
was  invested  with  the  same  powers  as  the  late  Virginia  Company. 
This  change,  however,  brought  no  immediate  disadvantage  to  the 
colonists,  whose  liberties  were,  though  not  expressly,  suft'ered  to 
remain  on  the  same  footing  as  before.  Sir  Francis  Wyatt  was  con- 
firmed in  the  office  of  governor. 

Ilavin"  thus  described  the  tardy  and  unprosperous  settlement  of 
Vinnnia,  and  the  final  dissolution  of  the  company  to  whose  eftbrts 
its  existence  as  a  colony  was  due,  we  leave,  for  the  present,  the 
cnsuino;  particulars  of  its  early  history,  to  relate  that  of  the  common- 
wealth next  founded  on  these  shores— a  commonwealth  whoso  hon- 
our to  all  time,  will  be,  that  it  was  founded  on  principle  rather 
than  on  profit,  and  from  its  very  inception,  preferred  liberty,  though 
with  exile  and  suffering,  to  unjust  restraint,  though  sweetened  with 
the  comforts  of  country  and  of  home. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  lEV  MGUm. 


CHAPTER   I.  ■ 


II 0 1, 1,  A  N  I) 
TIO 
CO 


«    TO   PLANT    A    COLONY..     TJIEin    LOYAITY    A^n 
OOAOE.     ..PARTUS     PKOM     DELPT    H^.^ 


tion  of  a  colony  in  vS  bv  1  f"\"''p  ,'"'^'  '""^  *''^  ^^^^'^*^- 
other,  of  weaker  resou  t      an/le  s      I  '^^'"^  '^'"'^^^'^^^-     ^^^^« 

attempts  to  settle  New  Wh„d  ^;";"*^^I'"-..-P-ienced  in  their 
"re.  Their  first  vole  fniaor^  "  '^'''''^'°"  «^  ""^^^'^ble  fail- 
In  the  fonowin4cartloth!''l''''  "T"'"^  '''  '^'  ^P'^'^^'^^- 
again  dispatehed  Ser  ^d  in  A  '^'  ''''''  ""^^^"^^'  ""■« 
Kennebe  .     A  smal   vi  iro  '      ,^"fe';!'^V«^"^«  to  the  mouth  of  the 

i"gly  severe;   part 'of  their^^tTi     3  ^^i::Z7f'^T'' 
governor,  George  Ponham    ,i;.i  1     7  -^  *  ^^^'^'   ^^^^^ 

i.>e  discouragement   r;aused   bv  tl,;«   ;ii  '"  ^"e  duci. 

measure  allayed  bv  fl.o  n,  ^  ill-«uccess   was   in   some 

m  surveXl  ^fd  t^        7"'^'  ""'  "'''"'^""^  «f  Smith,  who,  in 

England.     Th?- <■  rLe  of  h/ "    !'       n  ^"''"^'"'^   *'"^   ^^^'^  ^^  ^^^v 
warus,  to  eJfea  the  colonization  of  these  neglected 


III 


1 


1 1 


84 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


regions.  Great  schemes,  indeed,  were  formed,  and  lavish  promises 
were  made  by  the  Plymouth  Company;  and  the  honourable  title  of 
"Admiral  of  New  England,"  bestowed,  in  perpetuity,  on  Smith, 
seemed  to  indicate  a  confidence  in  great  ultimate  success.  All,  how- 
ever, vanished  in  mere  words,  though  the  company,  in  1(520,  pro- 
cured from  the  king  a  renewal  of  their  patent,  with  such  almost 
unlimited  powers  of  government  and  extent  of  territory  as  had  never 
before  been  conferred  by  the  crown  on  any  subject  or  association. 
The  settlement  of  New  England  was  due  to  a  spirit  more  earnest 
and  an  aim  more  honourable  than  even  those  by  which  its  warmest 
promoters  had  hitherto  been  actuated. 

The  persecution  of  non-conformists,  commenced  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  was  carried,  under  that  of  James  T.,  to  such  an  unen- 
durable extreme,  that  a  voluntary  exile  from  England  seemed  at 
last  the  only  resource  of  the  aggrieved  jiarty.  Even  this  forlorn 
alternative,  under  the  despotic  rule  of  the  House  of  Stewart,  ivan 
denied  them;  and  great  suffering  and  long  sej)aration  were  endiireJ 
by  those  who  sought  to  fly  the  country.  In  1G08,  the  congregatinn 
of  the  Eev.  John  Hobinson,  an  eminent  2)reacher  of  the  Irulepciident 
Church,  after  several  unsuccessful  attempts,  attended  with  ill-usafe 
and  separation,  contrived  to  get  clear  of  England.  They  settled  at 
Leyden,  under  the  more  humane  and  liberal  government  of  nolland 
and  during  a  protracted  residence  at  that  city,  by  their  good  coiidnct, 
gained  universal  respect.  "These  English,"  said  the  magistratus, 
"have  lived  amongst  us  ten  years,  and  yet  we  never  had  aii}'  suit 
or  accusation  against  any  of  them." 

Their  church,  which,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  numbered  three 
hundred  communicants,  was  of  a  strictly  independent  govei-nment; 
and,  to  their  honour,  a  provision  of  their  creed  declared  a  doctrine 
rare,  and,  indeed,  almost  unheard  of  at  the  day — that  eeclosiastieal 
censure  should  involve  no  temporal  penalty.  Their  cause  and  ilieir 
doctrines,  defended  by  the  learning  and  eloquence  of  their  pastur. 
were  viewed  with  general  respect  and  sympathy. 

AVedded  to  indn.stry,  no  le.«s  by  necessity  than  principle,  tlioy  liml 
learned  mechanical  arts,  and  honestly,  though  hardly,  suppoitrd 
their  families.  They  never,  indeed,  became  in  any  Avay  assimilated 
with  the  Dutch  in  language  or  in  manners,  and  ever  ehcrislied  an 
affectionate  feeling  for  the  land  from  which  they  had  been  so  rndely 
driven.  The  dissoluteness  of  manners  prevalent  among  certain 
classes  of  the  community  in  which  they  were  settled,  filled  tliem  with 


iiDiilicrcd  tliree 


arod  a  doctrine 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF   N  k  VV    ENGLAND.  ^5 

apprehension  for  the  rnorals  of  their  children ;  und  it  was  at  ]ast  con- 
sidered advisable  by  them  to  seek  a  permanent  asylum  and  .  nuional 
bene,  even  ,f  it  eould  only  be  found  in  some  y^t  unt;:  t  ^";^M  ! 
ness.  It  was  proposed  by  the  more  enterprising,  that  they  should 
seek  "some  of  those  unpeopled  countries  of  America,  wLh  a  e 
fru.tfun  and  ht  for  habitation,  being  devoid  of  all  civill'inhabi  arits 
where  there  are  ordy  salvage  and  brutish  people,  which  range  «; 
and  down  little  otherwise  than  the  wild  beasts  "  ^ 

To  this  scheme  the  more  timid  of  the  company  opposed  many 
o^ee  .on  ,  and  especially  the  cruelty  of  the  savages,  a.id  their  hor 
nbe  treatment  of  the,r  prisoners.    "  It  was  answered,"  savs  Bradford,* 
that  all  great  and  honorable  actions  were  accon.panill  witli  gr    t 
chffieult.es,  and  niust  be  both  enterprised  and  ove.con.e  with  answer- 
able courages      It  was   granted    the  dange,.  we.-e   great,  but  not 
desperate    and  the  d.fliculties  were    many,   but  not  invincible.     I 
.n.ght  be  that  some  of  tiie  things  feared  might  never  befall  them- 
others,  by  providence,  care,  and  the  use  of  good  means,  might  in  a 
g.eat  measure  be  prevented;  and  all  ol"  then,,  tluough  thelelp  of 
GuJ,  by  patience  and  lortitude,  might  either  be  borne  or  overcome  " 
Ihis  noble  reply  appears  to  have  sile.iced  the  objectors;  for,  after 
severa  days  passed  m  prayer  and  hu.niliation,  it  was  resolved  that 
he  httle  e.ong,-egation  of  exiles  should  seek  a  final  home,  whether 
for  hie  or  death,  m  the  American  wilderness. 

Oil  learning  their  detcmination,  the  Dutch,  who  held  their  cour- 
age and  virtue  in  high  esteem,  were  anxiously  desirous  that   the 
proposed  settlement  should  be  made  in  the  name  of  their  own  nation 
a.,d  .mule  handso.ne  oilers  to  that  e..d;  but  the  love  of  country  pre- 
vded,  and  It  was  resolved  that  wherever  the  co.npany  might  found 
a  state,  it  should  be  but  one  more  province  lor  the  c.own,  °o  which 
1.1  despite  o     Its  wanton  oppression,  they  were"  still  blindly,  buJ 
io.vally  attached.     The   most  eligible  spot,  if  permissio.i  could  be 
obua.K:u  .0  remove  thither,  sec.ed  some  u.nnhabited  pai't  of  that 
va4  aud  ludehn.te  tract,  then  k.iowi  as  ^-irginia.      Through  the 
mllueiiee  of  bandys,  permission  to  settle  was  obtained  f,oni  the  Vir- 
gnnu  tu.npany,  and  th.'ough  that  of  the  tule.-ant  Archbishop  Usher 
a  .0.    of  .ac.t  co.unva..ee  .t  their  sehen.e  was  wrung  from  the  king.' 
Oa     e  most  hard  and  exhorbitant  terms,  absorbing  the  labours  and 
pmlusof  the  p,.ojected  colony  for  seven  years,  the  re^uis.te  means 
Nvcie  obtained  from  a  company  of  London  merchants.     A  little  ship, 
*  Second  governor  of  Plvnioutii  volunv. 


8tf 


TllK   I'KOl'LK'S    !!()()  i;    o  K    Ills'l'OUy 


called  tlio  Speedwell,  ofsixty  tons,  Imil  been  idircliaswl,  aiul  niiotlijr 
the  Muy-KIower,  of  one  hundred  and  eii;iit,y,  had  been  iiiml  in  Kn.r. 
land.     Tlio  lirst  of  these  was  broiij>ht  to  Delft  Haven,  a  port  a  little 
Hoiith  of  Ley(I(>n,  whither,  on  the  'ilst  of  July,  1()22,  a  portion  of 
the  eonj:,ref^ation,  who  were  to  .sail,  aeeoin|)aiiied   by  most  of  the 
remainder,  rej)aired.     "So  they  left  lliat  [ileasant  and  goodly  city, 
whieh  had  been  their  re.sting  plaee  near  twelve  years.     Hut  they 
knew  they  were  /V/r/r/m.v,  and  looked  not  nuuth  on  those  tliiiijjs 
but  lifted  their  eyes  to  heaven,  their  dearcrst  eountiy,  and  (inifhd 
their  spirits.       *      *      *      The  next  day,  the  wind  being  liiir,  tiny 
went  on  board,  and  their  friends  with  them ;   when,  truly  doleful 
was  the  sight  of  that  .sad  and  mourid'ul  parting;  to  see  what  si'dis 
and  sobs,  and  prayers  did  .sound  anu)ngst  them;  what  tears  did  'nisli 
from  every  eye  and  pithy  .sjieecjlies  piereed  eaeh  other's  lu'art;  that 
sundry  of  the  Duteh  strangers  that  stood  on  the  (]uay  as  speetutors 
eould  not  refrain  from  tear.s."     Thfir  ))ast()r,   Robin.son,  who,  with 
a  portion  of  his  peojile,  remained,  "falling  down  on  his  knees,  and 
they  all  with  him,  with  watery  cheeks  eonunended  them,  with  most 
fervent  prayers,  to  the  Lord  and  his  bles.sing;  and  then,  with  nmtu'il 
embraces  and  nuuiy  tear.s,  they  tot)k  their  leaves  of  one  another 
which  proved  to  be  their  last  leave  to  many  of  thenl."* 


CHAPTER   IL 

STOUHY     VOYA(!K     OF     TllK     I' 1  F,  (i  H  I  H  S     TO     AHKliTOA, TKKT 

A  R  R  r  V  K     V  T    ('  A  I'  E    ('  0  I)  ■     A  11  K     ('  0  M  1'  !■;  I,  I,  V.  |)    T  0     1)  I  S  K  M  1)  A  |{  K: 
INSTITFTK   A   liKITIU.n;.  —  T  II  K  I  R  S  1  M  i' I,  (■;  e  0  N  ST  I  Tl'TION. 

0  A  R  V  E  U    K  I,  i;  ('  T  !■;  1)    (I  0  V  E  li  N  0  R .  —  A  II  S  K  N  C  K    0  I'    I'  V,  R- 

SONAI,    AMlilTIO.N    A  M  0  N' (i    TllK    1' I' R  IT  A  X    SKTTI.KRS, 

The  May-Flower  and  the  Speedwell,  carrying  an  hundred  and 
twenty  passengers,  on  the  Stli  of  Angu.st,  U20,  sailed  from  South- 
ampton in  company.  Compelled,  by  a  leak  iu  the  hitler,  tlirv  put 
back  into  Dartmouth,  whence,  on  the  2Ist,  they  again  took  their 
departure.  After  getting  a  hundred  leagues  to  sea,  they  were  .iiiain 
obliged,  through  the  timidity  of  her  captain  and  some  of  the  com- 

*  Brildlbrd'b  History  ol"  IM)  lumitii  Colony. 


"'-;:" ";,"  »'">-'"-'^.-.  > ^  u,:;:",i;,;:,  1;  i: :  ;;:,;;:,■ «';;;;« 

.US.'-,  hy  ,-,„„   i;,„„,„,  ,,„,,  ,j^^.„  J  l,.i,  :  ,  1  '"  '"■"• 

"liy  iiiwiiis  o   wUidi  il.<.  «.,;,i  i  ,   "        ^"'''W  a  Jargo  Kcrow, 

A.Hl  so,"  c:ontin     s  ,;;:'"  ^^""  !''""^''^  '"^'^  1- place  a,ui„: 

l'"'l  '-•  '-.y  .lavs    .Co        ■;  r,""  "']''  '']''  ---^  '--«•  to  1.0  at 

Oil  the  lOtli  or  Novo.iiber    nitov  .,  u        ' 
d:n..  the  ship  .loul.h.l  th    o  't,v     L'^. '    '"''  ^^T^  f  «'"'^^•"•- 

a  ^00.1  harl.ur,  on  which   i  W,^        ^''''  ^'"''  '^^"'  ""^'-'-l  i" 
)      '  "iiicii   I  lovincc'town  now  st'itu  u      if  i     i  i 

«gm'.l  that  the  pilgrims  sl.onhl  be  I'm.!,.!  •  '^'^  •^'^" 

bourhuu.l„fthcllu,lso„  J'      ''^''7*^^'^'*^'"-^vherein  the  neigh- 

ntones,pi,.a.lin.aheiovsfl    r.V  "'^'''"'""  ""  their  ter- 

«"^in..  u.en.e.ve;:;;;:::rt ,  ::^^^^^^^^ 

jt'ri.s,l,ction,  and  thus  .le.timte  of         \  ^     '''  ('On.pun/s 

-••■'^  •»  --^'nu.t  one-  '     ^  ^-vernn.ent,  they  at  once  set  to 

(^';v>;.'-^'.iiu,o.tha;:i::,::s.Set;e^ 

coded  to  ercrt  a  .Icn.oera.y  in  ils  sin.ole  '"''"■  '""■ 

i-i..i.nerhutcon,;:;r;;j:^^^^^^^ 

•"lv"mvmt.,.t  oftlK.  Claisii,,,,  r,iti,  ,„„i  i,  ,"  "' ""^''^ '"• '"'  f'^- glory  of  (;„,!  ,.,,,.1 

«"'•!'  jnst  and  ..,,,.,,1  l.us,  .„.li„,,.,,       ,   '"-  '     "'   '"  ""-"• ''""^titute  and  frame 
"""'-'•-l'.-'H  I-  tl,„„.Hu  ,  „.  \  ;.  '■•";'"""""">*  -"'  "'li--,  fnnn  tin.o  to 


y 


' 


68 


TllK   TKorhE'S    llouK   OF    IIIHTOKV. 


Such  was  the  plaui  aiul  simpki  form  of  the  first  written  constitu- 
tion, emanating  from  the  pojxihir  will,  ever  adopted  in  America.  It 
may  be  regarded  m  the  basis  of  that  vast  suiieratructuro  of  freedom 
which  has  since  been  gradually  reared  in  the  Western  llemisphere. 

Mr.  John  Carver,  a  gentleman  of  high  integrity  and  amiable  char- 
acter, and  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the  enterprise,  was  forthwith 
chosen  governor — an  office  which,  in  the  present  juncture  of  affairs, 
could  have  offered  little  temptation  to  ambition.  "In  the  curly  his- 
tory of  New  England,  it  may  be  remarked,  we  do  not  find,  aa  in 
that  of  nearly  all  other  European  settlements,  the  name  of  any  orio 
man  greatly  consj^icuous  above  his  companions,  or  exclusively  iden- 
tified with  the  foundation  of  the  commonwealth.  The  names  of 
Cortes  and  Pizarro,  of  Champlain  and  Peini  and  Smith,  are  each 
inseparably  associated  with  the  history  of  the  countries  whose  desti- 
nies, for  good  or  evil,  they  had  so  Large  a  share  in  shaping;  while, 
in  the  less  ambitious  annals  of  Puritan  colonization,  the  memories 
of  Carver,  Bradford,  and  Winslow — of  Endicott  and  Winthrop— (jf 
Standish,  Mason,  and  Church,  with  those  of  many  other  associate  wor- 
thies, are  fused  and  blended  with  the  common  history  of  the  country. 

"The  cause  of  this  distinction  is  not  dilhcult  to  define.  Principle, 
rather  than  personal  ambition,  whether  of  the  more  selfish  or  gener- 
ous kind,  was  the  main  spring  and  prompting  motive  of  the  actors 
who  figured  in  those  once  neglected  scenes  of  enterprise;  and  all 
thought  of  private  advancement  or  renown  was  for  the  time  merged 
in  a  spirit  of  community,  such  as  only  the  strong  prompting  of  reli- 
gious enthusiasm  can  maintain." 


\j    Jjil)    tuiit    <L      Ju     JU    X  i>       ill    J<    J)  o 

t 

DllKARY    ATPEARANCE    OF    NEW    ENGLAND.  —  EXl'I.ORINd    I'AliTY, 
—  STRANGE  INJUSTICE   TO   THE   INDIANS. — THE   VOYAGE  TO 

PLYMOUTH    HARBOUR. SKIRMISH    WITH    THE   SAVAGES. 

—  SETTLEMENT  OP   PLYMOUTH   FOUNDED. — GREAT  SUF- 
FERING    AND    MORTALITY    AMONG    THE     PILGRIMS. 

UiiCED  by  the  impatience  of  the  master  of  the  !Mn\  -Flower,  ilie 
little  bund  of  exiles  busied  themselves  in  finding  a  place  for  imniedi- 
ate  disembarkation  and  settlement.     Nothing  could  have  been  more 


XilK«KTTLKMKNT  OK   NKW   ENGLAND.  yy 

dreary  or  desolate  tim.i   the  annearanon  nP  i^ 
toi.chcd  on-of  a  stern  ana  JrllT  ''  '''""*'"^  ^^'^y  ''^<1 

son,  and  now  doubly     ve       ^  t  „1  f  "'  *^°  ^^™'^^"'^'«^  -- 

"Which  w^  soov^,"  z  o  /  :r  irr^^lT  ^^•'"'^^• 

(save  upward  to  the  Hea  ven)  they  could    'etf,      T'  ^^'"''  ^'>'^^^ 
i"  -.speot  of  any  outward  objeL      Fo  "s"    ,  "^^ 
thin<;s  stand  for  then,  to  h..k  .  nun  wifh  t  T  1         *='  Z^""''  "'^ 

tlie  whole  country  bein^  full  of  1 !  ^^  tl.er-beaten  face;  and 

wiia  and  Salvage  hue  ^If  t  ev  lool  IJ";  r^'^'  ^'-^P^^'^^-'tcd  a 
.Hi,hty  ocean  v°hich  they  h.Z.  Y  f""'^  ''"""'  ^''"'^  ^^'^  ^1- 
guS'  ti  separate  th    u  f,l  "  ^r'.r^  ''"'  "^^  ^  '"-»  ^^^  and 

Mayand^onghtnotthe:h     I'    :7tC^^^^^  "^    ^    * 

'Our  others  were  En,l,h.,en.  whi:;:e^:;^^^  Jl"';^  ^^  «^^; 
M-ere  rrady  to  perish  in  this  wilderness  ^J"'  ,'"^  t'"'>'^,^'^<-''"»  a" J 
Lord,  and  he  hoard  their  voice  .,      1    ?  7  ^'^  '""^'^  ""^^  ^ho 

let  th'en.  therefore  pru      Ih    Lo  d   b  T  ''""  ^'^''"'■^^'>' '    ^"^ 

cies  endure  forever/'  '  ^''""''^  ^'  ^'^  ^ood,  and  his  n.er- 

wursof  nolhtnd,and  w  o"?!  H       'r^^'^^;;^'^^"  ^""'^  '^'"'^  i»  the 

^^  company.'  ^i:  td:;;;:;^::^;:^::^  ^^^^^^^^^^^  ^"  ^'^^ 

tbe  IVogress  of  these  Pilgrims)  was  a  man  Ht  ^^'- ^''''^^''•^''^  "f 
'""'■kably  strong  and  active     ud     ?  ?  'J"  ''^'"'''  ^"^  ^«- 

courage.  The  ^on.p  nt  "d  d  1  'V"?'  '"7  ^"'  "^"^^^« 
P-y  oflndians,  wl/om[h  ;  o^l  :  ^  t^f  \^'^-'  ^^f^^  a 
thoy  can.e  at  last  to  a  sprin<.  where  s.^n«  '""^  '"^^  ''^"■•■^^^'' 
dniulc  our  first  New  Fn.  InHrT'    ^  ,   "''     '^'  '^'  "«  ^'^^^"  ^^"'1      i 

other,  nnxed  with  bin  1.'"™'  '""'  ^'"""^^  ''^"^^  '^°'"«  ^■-^.  -"1 

nuxtci  ;\itii  i,iue,  which  was  a  very  .roodlv  si^dit  "     i> 

t'ou  was  afterwards  made  to  the  owners    -md     t  t^      ^    ^^^"T 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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90 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


remarks  the  narrator,  with  that  happy  unconsciousness  of  impropri- 
ety which,  almost  throughout  our  colonial  history,  marks  the  record 
of  violence,  of  fraud,  or  of  spoliation  committed  on  the  natives. 

The  adjoining  regions  having  been  partially  explored,  at  a  con- 
sultation, it  was  thought  best  by  some,  for  the  convenience  of  fishing 
and  other  advantages,  to  settle  on  Cape  Cod;  but  the  pilot,  Mr. 
Coppin,  suggesting  that  there  was  a  good  harbour  on  the  western 
side  of  the  bay,  it  was  resolved  to  examine  it.  On  the  6th  of  Decem- 
ber, a  bitter  cold  day.  Carver,  Winslow,  Bradford,  Standish,  and 
fourteen  more,  embarked  in  the  jhallop,  and  followed  the  coast  south- 
ward. The  spray,  falling  on  their  clothes,  froze  instantly,  "and 
made  them  many  times  like  coats  of  iron."  On  the  morning  of  the 
second  day  of  their  voyage,  while  at  prayers  on  the  shore,  they  were 
assailed  with  arrows  by  a  party  of  savages.  Muskets  were  discharged 
in  return,  but  no  serious  result  seems  to  have  ensued  on  either  side. 
The  Indians  finally  retreated,  leaving,  among  other  trophies,  eighteen 
arrows,  "  headed  with  brass,  some  with  harts'  horns,  and  others  with 
eagles'  claws."  "The  cry  of  our  enemies,"  says  one  of  the  pilgrims, 
"was  dreadful.  Their  note  was  after  this  manner,  ^woach,  woach, 
ha  ha  hack  woach.^ "  This  peculiar  succession  of  sounds  has  descended 
to  our  own  day,  as  the  war-whoop  of  certain  native  tribes. 

All  that  day,  the  voyagers  sailed  swiftly,  with  a  fair  wind,  along 
the  coast;  but  toward  night,  the  weather  grew  heavier,  and  the 
rudder  breaking  from  its  hinges,  they  had  much  ado  to  scud  before 
the  wind,  steering  with  oars.  "The  seas  were  grown  so  great  that 
we  v/ere  much  troubled  and  in  great  danger;  and  night  grew  on. 
Anon,  Master  Coppin  bade  us  be  of  good  cheer,  he  saw  the  harbour. 
As  we  drew  near,  the  gale  being  stiff,  and  we  bearing  great  sail  to 
get  in,  split  our  mast  into  three  pieces,  and  were  like  to  have  cast 
away  our  shallop.  Yet,  by  God's  mercy,  recovering  ourselves,  we 
had  the  flood  with  us,  and  struck  into  the  harbour." 

Tliis  harbour,  already  surveyed  and  named  by  Captain  John 
Smith,  was  that  of  Plymouth.  Tlie  location  appeared  so  favourable 
that  it  was  resolved  to  plant  the  settlement  there,  and,  accordingly, 
the  party  of  survey  having  returned  to  Cape  Cod,  on  the  16th,  the 
ship,  with  all  her  company  (except  one  who  had  died  at  sea,  and 
four  who  had  died  at  the  cape),  came  into  the  harbour.  "On  the 
22d  of  December,  1620,  a  day  for  ever  memorable  in  the  annals  of 
America,  the  little  band  of  Pilgrims  landed  on  that  rock,  i;  ;w,  like 
the  Stone  of  Mecca,  the  object  of  enthusiastic  pilgrimage  to  their 


^THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.        q^ 

descendants."  A  site  was  selected  for  the  town,  and  timber  bein. 
cut,  nmeteen  houses,  with  all  possible  dispatch,  were  erected:  but 
so  severe  was  the  season  and  so  great  the  unavoidable  expisure 
especia  ly  in  wading  on  the  shallows,  to  and  from  their  bar^e  UW 
before  the  end  of  February,  twenty-five  more  of  them  hadfeH  h  S 
of  disease  and  privation.  i^ciioneu 


CHAPTER   I?. 

THE  INDIANS   OP   NEW   ENGLAND:   THINNED   BY    PESTILENCE 
-THE  PEQU0T8,   NARR AOANSETTS,    AND   OTHER  TRIBES 
—EXTRAORDINARY   OPINIONS  OF   THE   ENGLISH   CON- 
CERNING  THEM,  — BIGOTED   ACCOUNTS   OP   THE 
ANCIENT     HISTORIANS,     ETC. 

I       By  a  desolatuig  pestilence,  which,  not  long  before  their  arrival 
I     had  swept  New  England,  the  country  around  Plymouth  had  hlenin 
I    great  nieasure,  denuded  of  its  original  inhabitants.     Many  powe^fd 
nes  had  been  almost  annihilated,  and  others  reduced  to'^a'^frlcZ 
of  their  original  numbers.     The  most  considerable  nations  yet  sur- 
viving, were  those  of  the  Pequots  and  Narragansetts,  often  at  war 
.  th  each  other,  and  with  other  neighbouring  tribes.     The  former 
whose  chief  stronghold  was  on  a  commanding  eminence  in  GroTon 
in  the  east  of  Connecticut,  numbered,  says  Roger  Williams     hrtJ 
^ousand  souls.     This   undoubtedly,  is  an  excLve  ^e^^ 
T      at  e  ,  a  noble  and  magnanimous  people,  dwelt  in  th^state  of 

nors^^^  The  Pokanokets,  a  confederacy  of  smaller  tribes,  including 
te      ampanoags    Pocassets,  Sogkonates,  and  many  others,  d   elt 

coirisedXe^.r"''!  "'  *''  P"*"^"^^'  *^^^  ^^  ^'^  *«  ''-« 

IT    T?     M         r'''"'^  ^''""''''  ^"*  afterwards  only  five  hun- 

red     The  Massachusetts,  dwelling  around  the  Bay  of  that  name 

reduced  to  a  more  remnant.     These  tribes  mostly  acknowled^d  the 

was  at  Mount  Hope,  near  the  present  town  of  Bristol.     The 


92 


THE   PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  IIISTOKY, 


tuckets,  wlio,  we  are  told,  liad  also  numbered  three  thousand  war- 
riors, had  been  almost  completely  exterminated.  Many  small  clans 
mostly  dwelling  in  the  westward  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts 
arc  not  included  in  this  estimate. 

All  these  tribes,  except  the  Pequots  and  Narragansetts,  were 
tributary  to  the  Mohawks,  inhabiting  the  east  of  New  York,  one  of 
the  fiercest  and  most  powerful  of  the  celebrated  Five  Nations.  "Two 
old  Mohawks,"  says  Dr.  Trumbull,  "every  year  or  two  might  be 
seen  issuing  their  orders,  and  collecting  their  tribute,  with  as  much 
authority  and  haughtiness  as  a  Eoman  dictator."  Any  disobedience 
of  their  commands  was  speedily  punished  by  an  avenging  war-party 
which  cut  off  the  offenders  without  mercy.  The  Mohawks,  it  is 
said,  would  sometimes  pursue  their  victims  into  the  houses  of  the 
English,  yelling,  "We  are  come!  we  are  come  to  suck  your  blood" 
and  slaying  them  on  the  very  hearth-stone.  This  powerful  league 
however,  long  at  mortal  feud  with  the  French  of  Canada,  regarded 
the  English,  as  rivals  of  the  latter,  with  complacency,  and  never 
offered  any  molestation  to  their  persons  or  property. 

"It  was  now  just  a  century  since  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  by 
Cortes,  had  first  brought  the  races  of  Europe  into  direct  collision 
with  those  of  the  Western  Continent.  In  that  interval,  the  Eeform- 
ation  had  arisen,  had  spread,  and  had  produced  perhaps  its  finest 
fruit  in  the  little  band  of  self  devoted  exiles*  who  sought  in  the  wil- 
derness a  foothold  for  civil  and  religious  freedom.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  the  world  was  more  enlightened,  yet,  strange  to  say,  hardly 
a  step  had  yet  been  taken  in  the  direction  of  the  fairest  and  no- 
blest result  to  which  enlightenment  can  tend — the  acknowledgment 
of  the  universal  humanity  and  brotherhood  of  all  mankind.  Our 
pious  forefathers,  like  the  Spaniards  of  the  century  before,  still 

*  S(imt'  idcii  of  the  noble  spirit  of  tolerance  wliieh  distingfuislied  the  first  exik'd 
PuritMiis  m;iy  be  gntbered  from  the  fiirewell  address  of  their  pastor,  breathing  senti- 
ments intinitely  in  advance  of  his  age,  and  even,  in  some  degree,  of  our  own.  "I 
eharjjfe  you,"  he  says,  "before  God  and  his  blessed  angels,  that  you  follow  nio  no 
furllii'r  than  you  have  seen  me  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  Clirist.  The  Lord  has  more 
truth  yet  to  break  out  of  his  Holy  Word.  I  cannot  siillieienlly  bewail  the  condition 
of  the  icfornied  eburches,  who  are  come  to  a  period  in  religion,  and  will  go  at  present 
no  fnrtluT  than  the  instruments  of  their  reformation. — Luther  and  Calvin  were 
great  and  shining  liglits  in  their  time,  yet  they  penetrated  not  into  the  whole  couhsel 
of  (lod. — I  hfseeeh  you,  remember  it — 'tis  an  article  of  your  church  covenant— that 
yon  b(!  ready  to  receive  whatever  truth  is  made  known  to  you  from  the  written  word 
of  God." 


El 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW  ENGLAND.  93 

regarded  the  dwellers  of  the  Npw  Wr^r-iA       ^i      t 

certainly  the  direet  worsl  pp^s "     g^^f^^^    '\'  ^"««*  ^^'^l^-S  - 

familiarity  to  whieh  his  1st  fwl     ^    '  '"     ""  '"J°>'''^°  ^"  *he 

Kothh,  ^  .ore  str^l\rtot:nh'e^X^td  e^ef  ^^^^^ 
on  this  subject  of  the  men  of  tl.nf  o         "P""ons  and  conclusions 

cio>„  and,  L  .hoi.  /a^r f /ir.,,?:-:™ " "'"™'-  '-"•  -=- 

*..ar„ai.  to  e.o.iL  *e  :^^Z^"^^;t;X, 

In  his  "Good  News  from  New  Encrlflnri  "  n  trr.    , 

a  sort  of  ludicrous  reiteration  L.n^  1  ^"^^"""^^  Winslow,  with 
power  they  worship  ''te  111?  '^  1  '  ''""'  P^'"*"  "  ^'^^her 
L  to  the'northw:^  oCho  bj^^^^^  '''',  ^^"  ^^"^^^«-^'^^-' 

ceive,  is  the  devil.  *  *  T^""'/,  /'"  '  '^^"  ^'''  ««  ^«  can  con- 
forms unto  them,  as  in  the  shine  Jf  ™^''^;'«^^-  '-^PPe^-^rs  in  sundry 
&c.,  but  most  o;dinarily  a  snfke  hTT'  '  "'  '  ''""'  "^  "^°'^' 
chiefest  and  most  judiciL:  it,  tht  XraTl  S  tf '  '"*  '^^ 
to  attain  to  that  hellish  height  of1.onoT'      T^''f  ^L f^^"^  ''^^"^^ 

enant  with  them  toVeserve  th  7^1  ^71''""":'  "'"^'^^'^  ^'^^• 
knives,  hatchets,  &!.        I       T  '^'"J^^^'  ^,^  ^^""-^«  ^^^'^  ^-ows, 

.  .1,0  ..ovi,,  .,„. ,  «„. ,;:;;» .;t  r;.!""^  ^"'  -^''""^  1 

»"t„ry.     He  eo,Td,r,  ,  """""""-•"""■"t  "f  the  oigl,tee„th 

E.«  pr'uii  .;„?:;::,:;•? '"-  r-*  "■«»".  --» .he 

J'  ui  irutti  with  It;  of  whose  conjecture  it  may  be 


94 


TIllC   I'JCOI'LK'S    ItOUK   OV   Hl.STOUY. 


Mji 


said,  in  asonso,  aHaometinicH  of  Achitliopull's  counaell  in  thoso  dayos 
that  itt  was  aa  tlio  omclo  of  God.  Ilia  eoiiccitt  ia,  tliat  when  tlm 
(Icvill  was  putt  o\it  of  his  tlirono  in  the  other  parts  ui'  tlio  world,  niiil 
that  the  mouth  of  all  his  oraolos  was  stopt  in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Afri- 
ca, hce  acduccd  a  company  of  silly  wretches  to  fijllow  hia  conduut" 
(guidance)  "into  this  >iid<iiowne  j)urt  of  tlie  world,  where  hoe  miglit 
lye  hid,  and  not  be  disturbed  in  the  idolatrous  and  abomiuiiblo,  or 
rather  diabolieall  acrvieo  hce  expected  from  thoae  hia  followers;  for 
hero  are  no  footsteps  of  any  religion  before  the  Knglish  came,  but 
nieercly  diabolieall  *  *  and  so  uneoutli,  aa  if  it  were  framed  and 
devised  by  the  devill  himselfo,  and  'tis  transacted  by  them  they  used 
to  call  pawwowea,  by  some  kind  of  familiarity  with  Satan,  to  wlioni 
they  used  to  resort  for  counaell  in  all  kindo  of  evills,  both  corijorull 
and  civill." 

"To  opiniona  such  as  these,  the  rcsidt  of  ignorance  and  i)rojiulico 
must  doubtless  be  attributed  a  large  measure  of  that  cruel  and  un- 
charitable spirit,  which  dictated  not  only  the  wrongs  and  miissacrcH 
committed  on  the  natives,  but  the  still  more  unpleasing  exultation 
over  their  auirerings  and  extermination,  which  glows  with  an  infer- 
iial  light  in  tlie  pages  of  the  chronicles  of  the  day,  and  csjjecially  in 
thoso  of  the  rcvereml  historians,  Hubbard  and  Mather. 

"Continually  on  the  alert  against  the  assaults  of  the  infernal 
enemy,  our  fathers  saw  his  finger  in  witchcraft,  in  Indian  warfiuc 
and  in  numy  another  annoyance,  the  result  of  natural  causes.  Ani'cr 
and  hatred  were  thus  aroused — hatred,  indeed,  of  an  imaginary  foe, 
but  still  hatred,  bitter,  personal,  and  vindictive  to  a  degree  which 
we  can  hardly  conceive,  and  which  found  its  gratification  in  ven- 
geance on  the  sujiposed  agents  of  the  invisildc  Tormentor. 

"It  could  hardly,  perhaps,  be  expected  that  men  engaged  in  the 
deadly  terrors  of  savage  warfare  should  have  much  sympathy  for 
their  vanquished  enemios — esj)ecially  when  regarded  as  children  of 
the  devil;  yet  the  daring  ferocity  of  the  Indian-lighters,  occasionally 
relieved  by  a  touch  of  good  feeling  and  humanity,  is  far  more  agree- 
able to  contemplate  than  the  venomous  spirit  exhibited  by  the  hon- 
ourable and  reverend  recorders  of  their  deeds,  whose  minds,  imbued 
with  the  wretched  notion  of  Satanic  agency,  seem  actually  to  revel 
in  the  torment,  destruction,  and  assured  damnatiim  of  their  inifortu- 
nate  foes.  In  this  particular,  we  perceive  a  superstition  strangely 
variant  from  that  of  the  Spaniard,  who,  while  slaying  and  tormenting 
the  miserable  bodies  of  the  aborigines,  was  ever  anxious,  even  at  the 


TIIK  .SKTTLKAIKNT  ok  ne 


W  KNOLAND. 


stuko  or  tho  gallows,  that  thoir  souls  miir>,f  n«         ., 

an.!  1,0  admitted  to  tho  same  heavenT^^  1?"     "  "'T"^  ^''"'^^*>'' 
poison."*  "^^  ^^"^^  ^»«  expected  to  enjoy  in 


CHAPTER   Y. 


8AJrO«ET:  "WELCOME.  ENOU«ii„BN"-T,M.. 
ITS    PUNISHMENT.  '^'^''VJiU 


VISIT  OP   MASSA- 
ilfONG   TUJ 
l>UEL,  AND 


lIMENT.-VisrT    TO    MAHSasoit-    T«       yan 
O^UOH.^AOECTINO  INCIDENT. 


col"  n  ion  :  7  0  s'r  T  ''''''''  "^  ^'^^^^^^  ^^'^  -7 
had  learned  a  lUtre  L^h rortl'tT""?  T  ^^"^  ^'^^«^'  ^^o 
on  the  16th  of  Mareh  IgTi  oZr^WTfl  "^  ^''^"^"'^"■"'  ""^  who, 

thopilgri.swiththee:ere'n:ot  ^:  :r'^^^^^^  ^^'  -'«^*ed 

A  friendly  intercourse  bv  hi.  mJ  '  .^^  ^^«"^"«.l^^»f-rliHhmen.» 

with  the  neighbouring  ll        "!>".'  Tr^'r''^^'^'^  '^«^"^^"«»'«d 
aloof.    One  whom  hcrbrouXorr'^  ^"^'^  «-*'°»«Jy 

the  only  surviving  native  of  Prjettl^''""    ""''  ""'  ^'l'-"*«. 
Ue  was  one  of  the  twentylfir  ",  1^  ^'^^^--^h. 

had  kidnapped  and  having  ].         ?^      ,       ^'''^''''^  ^"'''et  Hunt" 

heproved?fg;e::tiTan^^^^^^^^^^^^  '--'  ^^^"^"«^' 

that  Massasoit,  the  greatest  sachem  of  t^.       r        ""^^^  '"formation 

-nyof  his  subject.?  was  cbs    Th     d      att'rr"^'"^^'  "'^^ 

sixty  nicn,  presently  appeared  on    t  i,-u    f        '^'  "^^'''^""^  V 

Kdward  Win.slow,  witftle  interp    tei.  '''^'"^"^'''  ^"^ 

"We  sent  to  the  king,"  says    he  old  t;  ''"'  '°  "^^^'  ^'■'"• 

withacopperchainanl^^weU  if    .^O^^^^^   "!^  P-  of  knives, 

"wo  .ent  likewise  a  knife  and  a  111  ,  \^"'^^!'^'^'"^    (^is  brother) 

a  pot  of  strong  waters  "In  1 J  l  ^'"^  "'  ^'^'^  «^'''  ^"^^  ^'»ha 

Massasoit,  leaving  Winslo.^  ^O"^!' mnce  w,th  a  friendly  invitation. 

with  twenty  atten'dal    tie   0  L^Se'r  "'^'  t''  ^'"'  ^^^ 
fon  had  been  made  to  recerve  him  "''''  ^^"'^  P^^P*'^ 


Vol.  IV.--35 


*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  America, 


90 


THE  PEOl'LE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


Governor  Carver,  with  tlie  sound  of  drum  and  trumpet,  presently 
entered,  and  the  two  dignitaries  were  soon  in  convivial  and  political 
harmony.  "After  salutations,  our  governor  kissing  his  liand,  tlio 
king  kissed  him,  and  so  they  sat  down.  The  governor  called  for 
sotne  strong  waters,  and  drank  to  him,  and  he  drank  a  great  draught," 
&c.,  &c.  An  interview  thus  propitiously  commenced,  soon  ripuned 
into  treaty  and  alliance — alliance  faithfully  obserMcd  by  both  i)iinie3 
for  more  than  fifty  years;  and  the  sachem  (influenced,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  a  trifle  overmuch  by  the  vigorous  draught  ho  had  imbibed) 
"acknowledged  himself  content  to  become  the  subject  of  our  sover- 
eign lord,  the  king  aforesaid,  his  heirs  and  successors;  and  gave  unto 
ther  all  the  lands  adjacent  to  them  and  to  their  heirs  forever.  *  * 
All  which  the  king  seemed  to  like  well,  and  it  was  applauded  of  his 
followers.  All  the  while  he  sat  by  the  governor,  he  trembled  with 
fear.  In  his  person  he  is  a  very  lusty  man,  in  his  best  years,  of  an 
able  body,  grave  of  countenance  and  spare  of  speech;  in  his  attire, 
little  or  nothing  diflering  from  the  rest  of  his  followers,  only  in  a 
great  chain  of  white  bone  beads  about  his  neck;  and  at  it,  behind 
his  neck,  hangs  a  little  bag  of  tobacco,  which  he  drank  and  gave  us 
to  drink,"  {L  e.  smoke.) 

Under  the  instruction  of  Squanto  and  Samoset,  the  English,  with 
the  coming  on  of  spring,  applied  themselves  to  fishing  and  to  the 
agriculture  suitable  to  the  country.  Twenty  acres  of  Indian  corn 
were  planted.  Thirteen  ijiore  of  the  colonists  died  during  March, 
reducing  them  to  half  of  their  original  number,  and  the  May-Flower, 
half  of  whose  crew  was  also  dead,  on  the  fifth  of  April,  sailed  for 
England.  On  the  following  day,  died  good  Governor  Carver,  who, 
while  toiling  in  the  unwonted  heat  of  an  American  sun,  had  received 
a  mortal  com/)  de  sokil.  "His  care  and  pains  were  so  great  for  the 
common  good,  as  therewith,  it  is  thought,  he  oppressed  himself  and 
ehortened  his  days."  Such  is  the  brief  but  honourable  epitnph  of 
the  first  New  England  executive.  William  Bradford,  a  young  man, 
but  ardent  and  energetic,  was  elected  to  succeed  him.  Under  his 
rule  the  first  punishment  was  inflicted  in  the  colony.  Two  servants 
of  Mr.  Hopkins,  for  fighting  a  duel,  with  sword  and  dagger,  were 
adjudged,  by  general  vote,  to  be  tied,  neck  and  heels  together,  and 
60  to  remain  twenty-four  hours;  but  the  judges,  moved  by  the  ex- 
cruciating tortures  of  the  culprits  (both  of  whom  had  been  wounded 
in  their  duello)  released  them  within  an  hour,  on  promise  of  better 
carriage  for  the  future. 


it,  the  English,  with 


THE  8ETTLKMENT  OP  NEW  ENGLAND. 


97 


tiunlt  depopulated  r  t       Jti       ""'  '"'  ""^^  ^'^^  -'^''- 
bleaching  on  tie. round     M.  J      'T'' ■"""^''■'^"•'  «'^'^^^*«"«  «till 

was  iii-pVcd  rtL%efe  :r:vto:t4 

.00.3  just  then,  being  vvofulV  ^r.sn.JT'C  ^Vl!:^';:' 
poor  king  caught  with  his  own  hands  were  all  Z  T'   V  ^' 

could  uller  thorn.     A-rreernents  for  tr.fT  ,  refreshment  he 

turning  to  his  assemWed  srcl^^^  traffic  were  n.ade,  and  the  chief, 
wherco°f,"  says  VV  n^w  "wC  '  7  "  ""=  '^^^""'  "  *''^  "^-"■"^' 
.ot  he,  MasLo,t,  cianr;  of  7  "  "'  """  ^^""'  *^'"^'  '^^^- 
Was  not  such  a  to wn  h^nd  ^^^^^^  ^^out  them? 

bring  their  skins  ZVZ^  tTJTII  ''^  ""'  ^'""^^'  *'^^^  "«' 
and  would  be  at  peaee^Ji^h  us^ir^;^^^^^^^^^^      ^J-f ' 

unto  us.  This  bLTen  ed  hi'  Ll L:"  '^^'^^^f ''  ^^  ^^  ^^^ious 
V  r.  T^     ,         "*^"'  "^  iighted  tobacco  for  us  nnd  f^U  f^ 

discoursing  of  Endand  inH  f^f +k    v     ,    nr  "»,  ana  leJi  to 

l.e  would  live  with^t  a "ife  »    1^'"8^ /'"J-'T.  »l«rvelli„g  .hat 
-.™cd  .!,„.  l,a  could  no  b;.,er  e„.'e,'l- ,  tl  "      "  '""""■'  °"' 

and  well  cared  for  by  tie  Indians  ,„»?„,  r' ^  "•'" '^"""^• 
*blc,).l,e  scat  of  .ifc  sache™  I^iC,  t  SriT""'  ^"T 

llisc„.e..ain,„c^.  ™  at^l  t^rZ;::''?:/";  '''  T""' 
f»l  a„d  varions.  One  .l.ing,-  prJJZ'l^t'ZZT"''' 
gnevous  to  us  at  this  place.     There  wis  an  oH  f  T        ' 

j»4'ed  to  be  no  less  .h»n  a  hundrcdTea  s  ^  rS"'  "'?  "" 
us,  because  she  never  saw  English:  vet  »u  d  „„;  l^f '"'""'' '",  '«»' 
breaking  out  into  ..real  d-issL"  /     .       >  T       """^  "'  "'"""" 

.i.ouidgi"vtti,cl  .;:*:„':  it";^\r"^"'t  r^  ^"«"*™"' 

«"  *e  English  that  heard  u'e^^::^  Z  L^s^rttt 


•'■11 


98 


TIIK  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF   III8T0UY. 


U8,  we  would  not  offer  them  any  such  injury,  though  it  would  gain 
us  all  the  skins  in  the  country.  So  we  gave  her  some  small  trifles, 
which  somewhat  appeased  her." 


Cn APTEH   ?L 

ARRIVAI,   OF   TKF   ?ORTUNK.  —  CHALLENGE  PROM   CAN0N1CU8: 

HIS    SUPERSTITIOUS    DREAD. — PLYMOUTH    FORTIFIED.— 

WESTON'S   COLONY    AT   WEYMOUTH:    ITS   MISERABLE  CON- 

.    DITION. — MA8SA80IT   ILL:   CURED   BY   THE   ENGLISH, 

—  DANGEROUS    PLOT    REVEALED. 


A  SMALL  vessel,  called  the  Fortune,  in  November,  1621,  arrived 
at  Plymouth,  bringing  thirty-five  additional  emigrants — not  enough, 
indeed,  to  replace  those  who  had  already  perished  of  privation  and 
exposure — and  bringing  neither  arms  nor  provision  to  the  weak  and 
hungry  colonists.  That  the  settlement,  in  its  infancy,  was  not 
sj)eedily  cut  off,  was  due  only  to  the  friendliness  of  Massasoit  and 
other  chiefs,  and  to  the  courageous  attitude  of  the  few  Englishmen 
who  remained  alive.  By  the  energy  and  promptitude  of  Standiali,  a 
germ  of  native  hostility  was  suppressed,  and  many  petty  chieftiiins 
even  subscribed  their  marks  to  an  acknowledgment  of  allegiance  to 
the  king  of  England.  One  Hobbamock,  a  noted  pantese  or  warrior 
of  Massasoit,  came  to  live  with  the  English,  and  during  the  rest  of 
his  life,  was  faithful  to  their  service. 

Canonicus,  the  great  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  who,  at  one 
time,  had  sent  a  friendly  message  to  the  colonists,  for  some  unknown 
reason — perhaps  the  arrival  of  the  additional  emigrants — changing 
his  policy,  assumed  an  attitude  of  open  hostility.  He  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  Plymouth,  who,  without  any  explanation,  presented  "a 
bundle  of  new  arrows,  lapped  in  a  rattlesnake's  skin."  The  Knglisli, 
amazed  at  this  odd  present,  were  informed  by  Squanto,  "that  it  im- 
ported enmity,  and  was  no  better  than  a  challenge."  On  hearing 
this,  the  governor,  with  much  spirit,  drawing  forth  the  arrows,  stuffed 
the  skin,  in  turn,  with  powder  and  shot,  and  sent  it  back,  ailding 
a  bold  message  of  defiance.  The  hostile  chief,  his  superstition 
awakened  by  the  mysterious  contents  of  the  skin,  declined  taking 


igh  it  would  giiin 
lome  small  trifles, 


naniese  or  warrior 


"P  the  gaimtlet  ho  had  ao  hastily  tbrcwn  cl„wn     "  • 
would  not  once  touch  tlu  powder  nn./.  ""^"-"'"S'^niucl.  as  ],o 
hi.,  house  or  country.     meT  . '         u^  '  ""''  "'"''''''  ''  '^  "^'^^  *'» 
other  took  it  up;  and  havTng  bl'^  tir""?"  "''•^'"^'  '^'  - 
t.me,  at  length  it  came  whde  baci    „t  1  "    Vi  ^  '^  'l'""  "  '""= 
awakened  among  the  colonists  tl.ov  r°    v    ,   V°    ""^^  ^«'"i?  t''"« 
.i.e  direction  of  StandishroWm-'tH^^'f     f'r   ^'"^"'  '^"'^  "'"'- 
also  thought  proper  to  do 7^1       /"'r^'-''''^"''''''^'-    S'l-'"'- 
that  the  English  l.ad  the  ptr  k.Hcd  "if  .T''^'  '"'  "^""^'-^"-^ 
could  let  it  loose  on  the  whde°cour.t  1    T,  ''"^"'"^'^«'  ^^^^ 

In  the  summer  of  1«99  two  v?  T  "^  '''"^  "  "''"^'• 

land  l^ya  Mr.  WestoJ  whi  ria^rd':  We''^^'"^^'^'  '''^"^  ^"^'■ 
«ome  fifty  or  sixty  idle  and  prorntA^  Wc««agu.sset  (Weymouth) 

ncs,  and  the  encroachmen^of  Zt.  n°'"'.'''-  ^^  '^'''^'  '^-^'^'^^^ 
■saw  of  what  stufFthey  wet  It  ^  t  °  ""''"^  ''^'''Ses,  (who  soon 
woeful  condition.  In"^  March  of  th."^  ''''''  '''^^''''^  '''  ^-'^'  *«  « 
dispatched  to  Plymouth  with  "a  nitifnTr  T'"°'  ""  '"^««'^"a«'-  was 
and  weak  estate,  and  of  th    Ind  an  '  ':  r  Z  '""  '""'"'^''^ 

boldness  increased  abundantlv  ?!!  ^""'''^^f^    ('l«mcanour,)  "wlu^e 
they  would  take  ourof  th      'p^^^^^^^^^  ^^T^^'  ^'^«^S«*' 

in  anything  they  gainsaid  the^ihey  :  ,':^^^^^  'ff '",  ^"'  '^ 
their  breasts;  that,  to  nive  fhrmmJ,  7T  ,  ^  ^^  ^'"''^  "  ^^'"•^^  a* 
tln>'  .tole  the  ^rf/a^/  JJ  and  vet  h  '  '^  'f.  '"'^"^  ^"^  '^  ^^--. 
f  eir  company  was  tu;!;;;  aCg  '  Y^^^  '  "f  .^'f  °"^  °^ 
fcaken  the  town,  and  made  therr;ndeto;s  vh'''  1  '^  ""'^ 
victual,  because  they  would  not  takp  tt  ''^  *^'^  °°*  '^^'"^ 

that  they  had  sold  their  c  les  f^f  L^ /J"^  ^«  ^^^^  ^*  ^ome; 
both  with  cold  and  hunger  also,  becauTt  y  ^Tof  *!,  '^^^"^ 
get  victuals  by  reason  of  their  nakedness  "  ''''^"''  *° 

These  disagreeable   tidines  of  TnrlJori    v    .-,• 
alarmingly  confirmed.     N  /sarriv  nfth..  M     '^  ^''"^  P^^^«"*'^ 
ill,  Winslow,  with  IIobbamocr:ranother  r^^^ 
patched  to  his  assistance  with  lor  •?        ^o^^Pamon,  was  dis- 
of  the  colony  could  afford      Th.       T^"  T'^'''  ''  '^'  P^^^^^Y 
tachment  of  his  follwer  tas  e,  /"     iT  f  '^^  ''''''  ^"^  ^^e  at"- 
who,  on  the  way.  Cni It IJ  f  ^    .,  V^' ^"^''^^^^^^^-^'^k, 

these  speeches:\.r::^r/CL?  Z''  '"'^  '^"'  ^'^^^ 

•-.  Whilst /lived/sLidttr^sjk::-;^^ 


100 


TIIK   I'KOI'I-K'S    UOOK    OK   IIISTOUY. 


Haying  lio  was  no  liar,  ho  was  not  bloody  and  cruel,  liko  other  In- 
dians; in  anger  and  jiussioii  he  was  soon  roc.lairned;  easy  to  bo 
reconciled  toward  such  as  had  olVcndcd  him;  ruled  hy  reason  in 
such  measure  that  he  would  not  scorn  the  advice  of  mean"  (liumhlc) 
"men;  and  tluit  he  governed  his  men  better  with  few  strokes  than 
others  did  with  many;  truly  loving  where  he  loved;  yea,  he  feared 
wo  had  not  u  faithful  friend  loft  among  tiie  Indians;  showing  how 
he  oft  times  restrained  their  malice,  &c.,  continuing  a  long  speech, 
with  such  signs  of  lamentation  and  unfeigned  sorrow,  as  it  would 
have  made  tlie  hardest  heart  relent." 

Arriving  at  Pokanoket,  the  visitors,  with  difficulty,  forced  their 
way  into  the  king'a  house,  which  was  so  crowded  with  Indians,  tluit, 
although  the  latter  did  their  best  to  make  a  passage,  it  was  no  easy 
matter.  This  assembly  was  performing  incantations  for  his  relief, 
"making  such  a  hellish  noise,"  says  "Win.slow,  "as  it  distempered  uh 
that  were  well,  and  therefore  unlike  to  ease  him  that  was  sick." 
His  sight  was  quite  gone,  but  on  hearing  who  had  come,  he  put  forth 
his  hand,  and  took  that  of  the  Englishman.  "Then  he  .snid  twice, 
though  very  inwardly,"  (faintly,)  "/v^c//  Wintsnuiv?  which  is  to  .say, 
'Art  thou  Win.slow'?  I  answered  A/iIie,  that  is  yes.  Then  he 
doubled  these  words,  Mutla  iicen  wonckanet  namen,  Wm,mow!  that 
is  to  say,  'Oh,  AVinslow,  I  shall  never  see  thee  again.'"  Despite 
the  unfavourable  circumstances,  his  guest  contrived  to  get  down  liia 
throat  a  "confection  of  many  comfortable  conserves,"  which  wrought 
so  effectually  that  the  patient  soon  began  to  mend  apace.  The  other 
sick  in  his  village  was  also  phy.sicked  and  tended  by  the  good  Wins- 
low;  and  Massasoit,  finding  himself  recovering,  "broke  forth  into  the 
following  speeches,  'Now  I  see  the  English  are  my  friends  and  love 
me;  and  whilst  I  live,  I  will  never  forget  this  kindness  they  have 
.showed  me.'"  In  gratitude,  he  revealed  a  formidable  plot  among 
the  Massachusetts  and  other  tribes,  which  he  had  lately  been  solicited 
to  join,  for  the  destruction  of  the  two  settlements  of  Plymouth  and 
Wessagusset. 

Followed  by  the  blessings  of  the  whole  village,  the  Englishmen 
returned,  lodging  on  their  way,  at  Mattapoiset,  with  the  sachem 
Caunbitant,  who.se  attitude  had  been  dubiou.s,  and  whom  they  wished 
to  conciliate.  "By  the  way,"  says  our  old  traveller,  "I  had  nuicli 
conference  with  him,  so  likewise  at  his  house,  he  being  a  notable 
politician,  yet  full  of  merry  jests  and  squibs,  and  never  better  pleased 
than  when  the  like  are  returned  again  uj)on  him."     The  people  of 


V 


i, 


TUB   SETTLEMENT   OF    NEW   ENGLAND. 


101 


th.H  town  W.nHlovv  endeavoured  to  i.nprcss  with  the  truths  of  roli- 
gK>n  and  especmlly  of  the  ten  eonnnundmentH;  "all  wl  .d  t  I 
hearla.ncd  unto  w.th  great  attention;  and  liked  well  J  ^Z 
Bcvcnth  oon.rnandn.ent  they  excepted  against,  thinking  he  eVe  o 
many  inconveniences  in  it."  '^ 


EHAPTEB   ?n. 

HIPEOmON   OK  »TAN»TSI.  TO  W«  Y«otlTr,._,„  ,n>,n  roTICT 

"""•"»"    l''.V.«O.TI,,.    ,„n.»„„T:    SKASO  "o    7 
8FPP»    OF    KA,»,-AO,„r,„»„,     A,„„,A,. 

Tim  informalion  given  by  lfa,,a»oit  being  cm.nn,,,  J  bv  furtber 
evdencc,  ,.  w„,  ro»„lve,1,  with  cxtmorJi„„r;  bolJn  to  .uko  „ 
*,,,,vc  and  „t,.,k„  a  Joa,lly  blow  a,  the  biaj»  .,f  t  i  1      (^  " 

faces,  ■„„;»  like  Mi^Z^^^^^XZ^:"  """°'  "■'"''""'""'" 

!  igt  r  eS,:'T 'T""^  r""r'' ""'"  "'■»'--  °f 

™oo.M,,  "1    L   r,l  eve    tli'tT      """■  "'""="'   '"  »l'°''° 


102 


TUB  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


acing  gestures.  "Amongst  the  rest,  "Wittawamut  bragged  of  the 
ex  3llency  of  his  knife.  On  the  end  -of  the  handle  was  pictured  a 
woman's  face,  'but,'  said  he,  'I  have  another  at  home  that  hatli  killed 
both  French  and  English,  and  that  hath  a  man's  face  on  it;  and  by 
and  by  these  two  must  marry.'  Further  he  said  of  thut  knife  lio 
there  had,  Ilannaim  namen,  hannaim  michen,  maita  c  <5,  that  is  to 
say,  'By  and  by  it  should  see,  and  by  and  by  it  should  eat,  but  not 
speak '  *  *  These  things  the  captain  observed,  yet  bare  with 
patience  for  the  present.     . 

"On  the  next  day,  seeing  ho  could  not  get  many  together  at  once 
and  this  Pecksuot  and  Wittawamut  being  both  together,  with  an- 
other man,  and  a  youth  of  some  eighteen  years  of  age  (which  was 
brother  to  Wittawamut,  and,  villain-like,  trod  in  his  steps)  and  hav 
ing  about  as  many  of  his  own  company  in  a  room  with  them,  gave 
the  word  to  his  men,  and  the  door  having  been  flxst  shut,  began 
himself  with  Pecksuot,  and  snatching  his  own  knife  from  his  neck 
though  with  much  struggling,  killed  him  therewith,  (the  point 
whereof  he  had  made  as  sharp  as  a  needle  and  ground  the  back  also 
to  an  edge.)  Wittawamut  and  the  other  man  the  rest  killed,  and 
took  the  youth,  whom  the  captain  caused  to  be  hanged.  But  it  is 
incredible  how  many  wounds  these  two  pinescs"  (panieses)  "received 
before  they  died,  not  making  any  fearful  noise,  but  catching  at  their 
weapons  and  striving  to  the  last."  Three  more  were  killed  by  the 
same  party,  and  in  a  fight  in  the  woods  (in  which  Ifobbamook  took 
an  active  part)  the  Indians  were  defeated  and  put  to  flight. 

The  news  of  these  successes  was  received  with  much  joy  at  Ply- 
mouth, and  the  head  of  Wittawamut,  a  grisly  token  of  ven<>'eance 
was  affixed  to  the  fort  at  that  place.  The  worthy  Eobinson,  indeed 
received  the  account  of  this  sanguinary  (though  perhaps  necessary) 
affair,  with  great  grief  and  mortification.  "  Would,"  ue  writes  la- 
mentingly  to  his  exiled  people,  "that  you  had  converted  some  of 
them  before  you  killed  any." 

Weston's  colony,  which  had  proved  so  miserably  unfitted  for  the 
country,  was  now  completely  broken  up;  a  part  of  the  settlers  pro- 
ceeding  to  Manhegin,  and  the  rest  accompanying  Standish  to  Ply. 
mouth.  They  might  probably  have  remained  in  security  where  they 
were;  for  such  an  impression  did  this  fierce  and  energetic  conduct 
make  on  the  hostile  savages,  that,  for  fifty  years  they  made  no 
further  attempts  against  the  English. 

The  summer  of  1623  brought  grievous  famine  and  distress,  the 


THE   SKTTLEMENT   OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  ^qS 

colonists  beino:  oomnellpfl  in  ao.,v«T,  *i,  i     „ 

corn  tang  tho  entire  slock  of  provisions  in  iLl       -t     '    ,'"'■  °' 
j    giving  (ivo  kernels  to  eael,--a„^°lM„7  ",*;'""'"•     ""''  '''"'''°''> 

™*.r  division  at  .he  entertainL^L"  o  '      ir  reX^ t'r 

I    pan)e  venerated  snot      A  Inr.o.  rlr^„  u.    i       ,      "t-soenaants,  in  the 

I  .-»f.'.ecro;x/.„-ecto":^,  ":!'',::;  rte  t  ''T' 
ton  planled.  These  sulTerings  they  bore  wi, hi?  ^  °°'"  '""' 
wdc  and  cheerfulness-  an.l  fill        .".''"''  "^faordmary  f„rii. 

..igi;t  .n,  way  st^ncf  with  h,^ ^  ;  !„°d'„„  '^jr'-"-'-  "•"» 
touching  sentiment.  Toward  the  eLl  f  .,  ,  ■""  '"''''""'  """^ 
^,^d„n^henext,norni"g»savstht^rft       ''■T  "'""''  '='""■"«'■ 

".«-^.i"«i  »uch  soft,  -ee  ;„7::tr  :;;fXir  *j"""°' 

some  fourteen  days  and  mixod  wUV.  ""^^rs  ot  rain,  continuing 

wore  hard  to  say  wh  her  rw,2renorn""°''°''r""''"'  ^  '' 
lions,  wore  most  quickened  anllv,'."'"'  ''™P'"«  "f«^«- 
goodnm  of  our  God  "  ™''  ™*  ™  """  ^""'y  "nd 

cainration,  and  o„f  invr::  '„"  o  God  for  ntT  'h""™  *"'' 
with  such  storms  and  tempests  as  ^1,  '  ^"'"^  ™'«'l 

good,  it  layoth  the  eon,  fl  t  *'  the  gTo  'nTl'tJ         "  'T*  """ 

..rsi,,»  gentle  and  seasonable  a  Zne;  ^h':  TT'"'  ',"' 

served  the  like  "     Tho  ],n..r    .        ^"'»""^i^,  as  thej  had  never  ob- 

*rvn.i„„  was  dlayl      In"„t  ^     '"""'"^''  "-'  ""  f^-  "' 

'-«^.s,with  sixlyld,!    ol    •;    tfrlf  T  T  ™'"™'' 
those  who  yet  remained   u-n«  fl    ^  ,     '•  "     ^"  "^  ^^"^'^  «™t  l>7 

^entiment:'..irtrrtl  ;  if  ^       °'""°  ^""^'^'^^'"^  ""^^  ^-^^^''-g 
i"^'run,ents  tot    k  1  e!  f      !?      T  ^^'^*  >'^^  ^"'^^«  been  th^ 

'li^i-'-y ;  ^/. .::::  2  : ';::' n'^° -r --^^r ^«" ^^'^^'^ ^- 

always  in  our  breasts  and  onf        /    t        '^'  "''^•'  ''^  ^'^'  J'^i 


and  distress,  the 


104 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


Xj     (L(L      t/iuJ     w         bu       liJ     tLli  V        Jj      Ji      Jj  o 

NEW  SETTLEMENTS  FOUNDED:   NEW  HAMPSHIEE  AND   MAINE. 

ENDICOTT'S     COMPANY.  —  THE     EEVELLEllS     OF     MERRY 

MOUNT;  BROKEN  UP  BY  THE  PURITANS. — SETTLEMENT  OF 

MASSACHUSETTS. — FOUNDATION  OF   BOSTON. — GREAT 

EMIGRATION. —  MORTALITY  AND  SUFFERING. 


The  progress  of  the  Plymouth  colony  was  slow,  but  sure,  and 
although  the  original  settlement,  at  the  end  of  ten  years,  numbered 
but  three  hundred  souls,  at  an  early  da}^,  it  began  to  send  offshoots 
into  the  adjoining  regions.  In  1625,  their  admirable  pastor,  Robin- 
son, died  at  Leydcn,  having  been  prevented  from  emigrating  by  an 
adverse  influence  in  England.  The  remainder  of  his  congregation, 
as  soon  as  practicable,  joined  their  brethren  in  America.  Enterprise, 
directed  to  the  same  region,  was  revived  in  the  mother-country. 
New  patents  were  issued  to  Gorges  and  other  projectors,  and  settlu- 
ments,  as  early  as  1623,  were  made  on  the  banks  of  the  Piscatuquu, 
Portsmouth  and  Dover  were  settled,  and  the  foundation  of  New 
Ilampshire  was  thus  permanently  laid.  That  of  Maine  was  not  long 
in  succeeding,  the  temporary  trading  and  fishing  stations  on  its  coast 
being  gradually  converted  to  permanent  occupation.  Roger  Conant, 
a  man  of  extraordinary  courage  and  perseverance,  with  only  three 
companions,  laid  the  foundation  of  a  settlement  at  Naumkeag  (now 
Salem)  near  Cape  Ann.  Preparations  for  a  Puritan  emigration,  on 
an  extensive  scale,  were  made  in  England;  and  in  the  summer  of 
1628,  John  Endicott,  a  man  of  brave  and  religious,  but  rugged  and 
bigoted  nature,  with  about  a  hundred  companions,  arrived  at  the 
diminutive  outpost  of  Salem.  Tlie  vigorous  and  practical  spirit  of 
Puritanism,  as  well  as  its  more  gloomy  and  ascetic  qualificatious, 
were  not  long  in  making  their  demonstration. 

"  A  small  settlement,  named  Mount  Wollaston,  (Quincy),  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  one  Thomas  Morton,  described  as  'a  petty  fogging 
attorney  of  Furnivars  Inn,'  who,  with  a  crew  of  diissolute  compan- 
ions, lived  there  in  nmch  excess  and  licentiousness.  He  cbangoJ 
the  name  of  the  place  to  Merry  Mount  ('as  if  this  jollity  could  have 
lasted  always')  and,  besides  selling  fire-arms  to  the  Indian.s,  kept  a 
haunt  for  all  the  idle  serving  men  and  lewd  companions  in  the  coun- 
try.    Tlius  they  lived  for  some  time,  'vainly  (^uafruig  and  diinking 


THE    SETTLEMENT    OF  NEW    ENGLAND.  iq- 

both  wine  and  strong  liquors  in  great  excess  (as  some  have  reported 
ten  pounds  worth  m  a  morning)  setting  up  a  May-pole,  drinkinc^ 
and  dancing  about  it,  and  frisking  about  it  like  so  many  fairies  or 
furies  rather— yea,  and  worse  practices.  *  *  #  rpj^^ 
said  Morton,  likewise,  to  show  his  poetry,  composed  sundry  rhyme! 
and  verses,  some  tending  to  lasciviousness,  and  others  to  the  detrac- 
tion and  scandal  of  some  persons'  names,  which  he  affixed  to  his  idle 
or  idol  May-pole. 

"These  dissolute  courses  received   their  first  check  from   'that 
worthy  gentleman,  Mr.  John  Endicott,'  who,  soon  after  the  founda- 
tion of  his  settlement,  paid  them  a  visit,  cut  down  their  May-pole 
read  them  a  terrible  lecture,  and  once  more  changed  the  name  of 
their  abode,  calling  it  Mount  Dagon.     The  whole  community  was 
finally  broken  up  by  a  small  force  dispatched  from  Plymouth,  under 
Captain  Standish      This  party  seized  Morton,  and  'demolished  hi.s 
house,  that  It  might  no  longer  be  a  roost  for  such  unclean  birds ' 
Ihe  culprit  was  sent  over  seas.     'Notwithstanding,  in  England  he 
got  free  again,  and  wrote  an  infamous  and  scurrilous  book  against 
many  of  the  godly  and  chief  men  of  the  country,  full  of  lies  and 
sla-iders,  and  full  fraught  with  profane  calumnies  against  their  names 
and  persons  and  the  ways  of  God.'     Returning  imprudently  to  Bos- 
ton he  was  imprisoned  'for  the  aforesaid  book  and  other  things' 
and  finally    being  grown  old  in  wickedness,  at  last  ended  his  lifc°in 
riscataqua.    * 

Many  persons  of  wealth  and  eminence  of  the  Puritan  party  having 
ormed  the  design  of  emigration,  a  charter,  in  1629,  was  obtained 
rom  the  king  for  the  formation  of  a  new  company,  under  the  title 
of  tie    Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New 
England.      In  the  latter  part  of  June,  that  same  year,  two  hundred 
more  emigrants,  dispatched  by  this  corporation,  arrived  at  Salem,  and 
a  new  settlement  was  founded  at  Charlcstown.     During  the  months 
of  June  and  July,  1630,  eleven  ship,  bearing  a  great  numTer  of      I 
^^l^  arrived  in  Massachusetts  Bay.     At  thhf  time,  tre  only       ' 
-    hving  on  the  peninsula  of  Shawmut  (the  site  of  the  present 
t)  of  Boston)  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  the  Rev.  William  Black- 
one,  who,  on  account  of  ecclesiastical  scruples,  had  quitted  Eng- 
M  and  betaken  himself  to  the  American  wilderness.     He   had 

set!  /  .'pf  ^f  ""'^  P'""''^   ''^"  ''''^'''^-     Tl^e  new  comers  first 
settled  at  Charlestown,  where  a  small  colony  had  already  been  estab- 

*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  Ameiica. 


106 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   H18T0KY. 


lislied;  but,  on  the  invitation  of  Mr,  Blackstone,  and  attracted  by 
the  natural  advantages  of  the  place,  their  governor,  the  celebrated 
John  Winthrop,  with  other  persons  of  distinction,  removed  thither. 
The  principal  place  of  the  plantation  was,  accordingly,  erected  oa 
that  admirable  locality,  which,  in  all  the  wide  region  of  which  it  is 
the  metropolis,  could  hardly  find  a  rival,  in  beauty  or  convenience. 
In  the  course  of  the  year,  five  more  vessels,  with  more  emigrants 
making  the  number  fifteen  hundred,  arrived.    Buildings  were  erected 
with  all  possible  dispatch,  but  such  were  the  numbers,  that  proper 
shelter   for   all   was   unobtainable.      Before   December,    two  hun- 
dred had  died  of  disease  occasioned  by  their  hardships,  and  more 
than  a  hundred  had  retreated  to  England.     These  sufferings  were 
endured  with  much  fortitude  by  the  survivors,     "We  here  enjoy 
God  and  Jesus  Christ,"  wrote  Winthrop  (who  had  lost  a  son)  to  his 
wife,  "and  is  not  this  enough?    I  would  not  have  altered  my  course 
though  I  had  foreseen  all  these  afflictions,     I  never  had  more  peace 
of  mind."     Despite  these  discouragements,  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
was  fairly  awakened  in  the  Puritan  party,  and  during  the  next  few 
years,  such  numbers  continued  to  flock  to  the  new  colony,  tliat  an 
Order  in  Council  was  issued  by  the  king  to  restrain  the  emigration. 
Nevertheless,  for  a  long  time,  great  numbers  of  the  persecuted  faction 
resorted  to  Massachusetts — the  year  16^5  being  especially  memorable 
for  the  arrival  of  a  large  company,  among  whom  were  the  afterwards 
celebrated  Hugh  Peters  (chaplain  to  Cromwell)  and  Mr.  (afterwards 
Sir  Henry)  Vane,  who,  the  year  after  his  arrival,  was  elected  gov- 
ernor.    It  is  said  that  Hampden,  Cromwell,  and  Pym,  (three  names 
the  most  formidable  in  the  great  revolution,)  had  also  embarked, 
but,  by  an  order  of  court,  were  constrained  to  remain,  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  power  and  the  person  that  withheld  them. 


THE  8ETTLKMKNT  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.       1^7 

CHAPTER   II. 

CHARACTER  OP   THE  POUNDERS  OF   M  A  SS  ACHUSETTS -R  EG  U 
UTIONS    FOR    runuc    MORALITY:     FOR    APPARYr      ETC  - 
AMUSING   rOALTIES.-INTOLERANCE   IN  HEUO      N 
-COMMENCEMENT     OF     PERSECUTION. 

"The  wealth  and  importance  of  this  new  community  were  com- 
mensurate with  the  growing  power  of  the  Puritan  pLT     tZ 
part,^ong.nallyso  humble  and  depressed,  was  a  rear^innit 
to  uphft  ite  vo.ce  m  the  councils  of  the  English  nation,  and  to  p  o 
vo  c  fresh  and  suicdal  efforts  of  that  arbitrary  power  which  was 
desuned,  ere  long,  to  fall,  with  such  terrible  circL'^,trnc;s  b  for    ft 
Accordingly,  the  men  who  now  transferred  th.\r  t  V    ^^''''^*' /*• 
Kew  World,  though  aiming,  as  eJ::^:^^^^;^ 
ih  foundation  of  a  religious  commonwealth,  brought  wihti; 
somewhat  of  that  insolence  which  is  alwiv.  tL  i  ^^    with  them 

Fospcnty.    -Theirc^aracteiVstrlSM:::^^^^^^ 
were  more  elevated,  but  their  dispositions  were  less  kindi?  tl' 
jcrtempers  more  austere,  sour,  and  domineering  haftho^^^^^^^^^ 
Plvmouthbrethren.     They  had  brought  themselves  to  a  posUiveoi 
viction  of  their  own  evangelical  purity  and  perfect  godl      iraJd 
therefore  they  tolerated  not  even  the  slightest  difference  in   heolo 
gol  opmions;    They  were  composed,  in  short,  of  that  s Ui^  Z!^ 
according  to  circumstances,  makes  a  mnrtw  ^l  n  ' 

unfortunatelv  for  their  reputaUon  theT.f  I  ^ /^^^^'^'^tor ;  and, 
develonmenf  TI,;=  ^^^P^^^^^'^".  Jhe  latter  had  opportunity  for 
Cevelopment  Ihis,  however,  can  hardly  be  laid  at  the  door  of 
their  faith.  Having  power  to  persecute,  they  persecuted  LT  \ 
.  .rehgio^^iunity,  w£ch.  having  s^r^^:;-^;  - 
0  use  It/     Until,  indeed,   aroused  by  opposition  (which   did   not 

"les  lor  tl  e  mo.t  part,  lay  dormant,  only  indulging  itself  in  n,n„i 
«.l.cr,,  „e„  fa  a,e  restraint  of  i„te.,,cn,„ce  ^eXll^ 

*  Dkeovcrere,  &.c.,  of  America. 


I 


108 


THK   I'KOl'LK'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


As  oarly  as  IfiS^t,  we  find  a  traveller  complaining  tliat  if  a  gentleman 
Avent  into  either  of  the  two  public  houses  in  Boston,  he  was  fullowcd 
by  an  officer  appointed  for  the  purpose,  who  watched  his  potations 
narrowly,  and  when  of  opinion  that  he  had  enough,  would  counter- 
mand his  orders,  and  cutoff  all  further  supply — "beyond  which" 
says  our  author,  bitterly,  "he  could  not  get  one  drop!"  Another 
ordinance  enjoined  on  all  constables  to  keep  special  watch  overall 
"common  coasters,  unprofitable  fowlers,  and  tobacco  takers."  But 
when  the  clergy  began  to  use  the  inhibited  weed,  the  severity  of 
this  provision  was  relaxed.  Vanity  in  dress  was  severely  repre- 
hended, especially  "immoderate  great  sleeves,  slash  apparel,  and 
long-wigs."  Any  one  who  should  "give  offence  to  his  neighbor  by 
the  excessive  length  of  his  hair,"  might  be  arraigned  before  tlie 
General  Court,  and  compelled  to  remove  the  obnoxious  sur[)lusage. 

No  regular  system  of  law,  common  or  statute,  being  adopted  at 
first,  sentences  of  punishment  were  framed  according  to  the  ingenious 
fancy  of  the  court.  These  sentences,  gravely  perpetuated  in  the 
records,  sound  oddly  enough  to  modern  jurisprudence.  Josias 
Plaistowe,  for  stealing,  is  fined,  and  doomed  thereafter  to  be  called 
Josias,  "and  not  Mr.  as  he  formerly  used  to  be."  "Mrs.  Cornish, 
found  su.spieions  of  incontinency,"  is  (probably  in  default  of  suffi- 
cient evidence  for  conviction)  "scriou.s]y  admonished  to  take  liecd." 
Mr.  Robert  Shorthosc,  who  had  thought  proper  to  swear  by  the  blood 
of  God,  is  adjudged  to  have  his  tongue  put  in  a  cleft  stick,  and  so  to 
remain  for  half  an  hour.  Edward  Palmer,  who  had  made  a  new 
pair  of  stocks  for  the  town,  for  presenting  the  extortionate  bill  of 
two  pounds  and  upward,  is  .sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  five,  and  fur 
one  hour  personally  to  test  the  eflicacy  of  his  own  haiuliwork— a 
salutary  warning  to  all  public  creditors.  Nothing  seems  ,to  havo 
been  more  sharply  repressed  than  any  question  of  the  authoiityof 
the  court.  In  l(i32,  according  to  the  record,  "Thomas  Kiiowerwiu 
.'ict  in  the  bilboes  for  threatening  ye  court,  that  if  he  should  be  pun- 
inlicd,  ho  would  have  it  tried  in  England,  whether  he  was  lawfully 
punished  or  no." 

Poligions  conformity,  at  first  not  enforced  to  a  sanguinary  extreme, 
was  a  regular  part  of  the  political  system.  All  persons,  under  pain 
of  a  fine,  were  compelled  to  attend  meeting.  Mr.  Painter,  it  seems, 
"on  a  sudden  turned  Anabaptist,"  and  would  not  have  his  child 
bai)tised,  "Whereupon,"  says  Governor  Wintlirop,  with  delightful 
discrimination  between  an  (ijiinion  and  the  expression  of  it,  "because 


THE  SETTI^EMENT   OF   NKW   ENOLAND.  jQg 

he  was  very  poor  SO  as  no  otl.cr  but  corporal  punisl>mcr,t  could  be 
fasU.>oa  on  hnn,  l,o  was  ordered  to  be  whipped,  not  f„r  Ins  opmion 
l.iMrrproack.n,tke  LorcVs  Ordinance.     He  endured  his  pun    h! 
...cat  vv.th  nuK.,h  obsf  naey  and  said,  boastingly,  that  God  h.^!  mar- 
vellously assKsto    hun."     Hugh  Bretts,  for  heresy,  was  ordered  to 

ogone  out  o    the  jurisdiction,  «and  not  return'^Lgain,    n  pi '    ? 
bou>g  hanged."     By  a  p.oce  of  intolerance,  quite  as°unju«tirmblc  a 
any  wlueh  the  Puntans  themselves  had  endured  in  England,  rostrai 
was  hud  on  the  consccnces  of  the  Indians,  who,  u,>der  penalty  of 

ve  pounds,  were  forl.dden  to  worship  the  devil,  or  to  practice  ar,y  of 
the  rchg,ous  ntes  of  their  forefathers.     It  was  ordered   moreover^  at 
a  later  day,   hat  if  any  negro  slaves  should  take  refuge  among  th  m 
as  many  Indians  should  be  "  captivated  "  in  their  place.  ' 


CHAP  TEH   I. 


REV 


ip,  with  delightful 
lion  of  it,  "because 


ROGER  WILLIAMS.-HIS    LIBERAL    OPINIONS  -JIF    IS 
rERSKCUTED  BY  THE  AUTHORITIES  OP  M ASSACHUSETT     - 
EX     ELLEI.   PROM    THAT    P  RO  V  I  N  C  E.-T  .  K  ES    REFUGE    IN 
THE    WILDERNESS.-FOUNHS    PROVIDENCE    PLANTA 
TIONS  AND  THE  STATE  OF  RHODE  ISLAND. 

Intolerance  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts,  ere  Ion.  was  the 

exc,tu,g  cause  of  fresh  schemes  of  colonization,     io^er  AVi'll  •  L  ! 

clergynan  of  liberal  opinions  in  religion  and  enli.hte     v         'in 

poht,cs,  ,n  1631    attracted  by  the  expectation  o?toer! Le        ,e 

edy,x.opled  wilderness,  made  his  wly  to  Boston.     II     wn     fi 

tl.  at  Sa  en,  but  on  account  of  the  illiberal  hostility  of  th    M. 

Sm  :T'T  r'"  '"^  ^""^  ''^^  °^  '-  sentiment,  :;.^ri 
b     jm  uth,  where  he  was  appointed  assistant  minister,  a  ul  l>v  I  i 

ty  ad  eloquence  became  much  endeared  to  the  people      I  Von 
benevolent  motives,  he  took  much  pains  to  learn  the  In,        .«  "d 

"  r:  "1  '"  Tf'^  '"  ^"'^^■""^  «^  ^'-  neigl.bouri,;;    ndi^:' 
God  w     p  eased,"  ho  says,  '<to  give  me  a  painful,  p,,tiu,t  spi  i      o 

gieat  sachems  of  the  Narragansctts  (Canouieus  and  his  n.plicw  Mi- 


«: 


110 


THE  PJiOPLE'8   BOOK   Ob"   lllSTUUY. 


antonimo)  accorded  him  their  friendship — tliat  of  the  latter  eventu- 
ally proving  of  no  small  moment  to  the  prosperity  and  even  the 
existence  of  the  New  England  colonies.  He  resided  two  years  in 
Plymouth,  and  then  moved  again  to  Salem,  followed  by  a  considera- 
ble number  of  his  congregation. 

There  (August,  1684)  he  was  regularly  installed  as  pastor,  and  by 
his  liberal  preaching  speedily  revived  the  prejudice  and  hostility  of 
the  authorities.     In  that  day,  it  was  considered  a  startling  novcltv 
to  declare  that  a  man  was  the  proper  guardian  of  his  own  religious 
belief,  and  that  the  state  had  no  right  to  intermeddle  with  it.    In 
reading  the  terrible  history  of  martyrdom,  three  reigns  before  this 
we  do  not  find  many  objections  raised  to  the  practice  of  burning  men 
alive,  abstractly  considered — but  the  question   was  debated  with 
intense  earnestness  as  to  what  shade  of  opinion  was  fittest  to  bo  re- 
pressed by  the  flames.    Probably  a  good  many  tenets  might  have  been 
enumerated,  which  nearly  all  parties  in  tlie  English  Churcli  would 
have  united  in  denouncing  as  worthy  of  punishment.    Yet,  doubtless 
it  was  well  for  mankind  that  martyrdoms,  though  on  points  ostensibly 
the  most  trifling  and  immaterial,  should  have  been  bravely  under<'one' 
for,  if  it  had  once  been  established  that  death  and  suffering  would 
make  men  belie  the  faith  that  was  in  them,  self-will  and  error  and 
consequent  misfortune  to  the  race,  would  have  found  the  means  for 
their  eternal  perpetuation.     To  the  end  of  time,  the  only  rule  would 
have  been  that  of  the  naturally  violent,  self  willed,  and  cruel.    But 
then,  and  long  after,  it  was  considered  allowable,  by  nearly  all  sects 
of  Christians,  to  repress  opinions  of  some  sort  by  the  stron"-  arm  of 
the  law.     It  was,  therefore,  to  the  no  small  annoyance  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts magistrates,  as  a  reflection  on  their  systematic  intolerance 
that  the  preacher  boldly  announced  "that  no  human  power  had  the 
right  to  intermeddle  in  matters  of  conscience;  and  that  neither  church, 
nor  state,  nor  bishop,  nor  priest,  nor  king,  may  prescribe  the  smallest 
iota  of  religious  faith.     For  this,  he  maintained,  a  man  is  responsible 
to  God  alone."     Especially  he  deprecated  the  unjust  laws  compelling 
universal  attendance  at  meeting  and  a  compulsory  support  of  the 
clergy,  affirming  that  the  civil  power  "extends  only  to  the  bodies 
and  goods,  and  outward  estates  of  men,"  and  maintaining  that  with 
their  belief  "the  civil  magistrate  may  not  intermeddle,  even  to  stop 
a  church  from  apostacy  and  heresy." 

He  had  frequently  been  censured  by  the  authorities  or  vexatiously 
.summoned  before  them;  and  on  the  promulgation  of  these  incendiary 


le  latter  eventu- 
ty  and  even  the 
3(1  two  years  in 
I  by  a  considera- 


4- ''(.■.;' ;Jl!^;v4il 


KOOEK     WII.  1.1  JIMS, 

OUNnKH       OF      R„„„ 
B<.HN  I.N  WALKS,  ,«„;    aNKIVK.)   ,N    NKW    ,,n«un.. 


T"K      POUNORH      OP      „„„„,      ,«,,„„ 


1(06;     niKD,    llJ8a. 


n«i;    roiiMDKu  i'H()vinK.\rK. 


Il^il 


doctrines,  ns  thov  worn  ,'nt,^;,i       i    • 

fur  his  "(liingerowH  opiniona  "     A  rt„r  ^      '■orruinrjy  o,,  trial, 

congrc-atio.,  wore  allowe<r''<timn  tn  "  ^'■?^;''"^^'*^  ^'^^•'^to,  ho  and  J.is 
i    next  Goncrul  Court,  ar>d^hcn  cThor  t"""    "  ''-"^  ^'''""'^  ^'"  ^''« 
!    tl-entonce."    At 'the  next   It  in ^  „  oSor^'l^''^"'  "  «^P««' 
recant,  a  resolution  was  passed  th.        i  '    ?  "  '""  '°^»««d  to 

broached  and  divulged  divT  Ll    nd"  """  ''"  ^^"'"'^^  "^^^^ 
the  authority  of  magistrate     u     Tot  ,1     ?^'T  "^''"'■""'''  «g^i"«^ 
anyrctraetation,''hissen    nc'cs  1"^^    rr    "I"'''  '^"  '^""«  ^^'hout 
f"«--<^'i  to  re,nain  Tor  a  ti^ctly      ol' <  ^w'^ '"' '^  '''  ""'^"^ 
l.cns.on  of  his  godliness, "  resorted  to  him  """^  ""  "PP^'*" 

In  alarm  at  this  evidence  of  his  nonnl-rif     .i. 
av-el  to  sei.e  and  transport  1:^:^^^;;-*  ^I^Patched 
design,  m  the  dead  of  winter,  (Januarv  Tfl'^rv     ,  r  f'"'"^  ^^  *^'« 
took  refuge  in  the  forest,  wherna^'i '!'?  '  'i"  '""'^^'  ^^^ 

another,  he  found  a  nuserible  su  kC^  'Z  "'  '"''"'  '"*  *^ 
qua-ntlv.  '.fed  me  in  the  wilderness."  At  Mou  ru"""'?"  "^" 
■iged  Massasoit  was  still  residin-r  h.  J  ,  \  '  ^^P'^'  ^'h^''^  the 
taineclfromthatchiefagranto  Hn  o  f  'T^y^''^'^^^^^'  and  ob- 
j    anun^berof  his  friend  ,1ulel^^^^^^^^^  Thither 

andcommeneed  a  pla^tat!^:;^  A  tt  e^  t^^^^^^ 
!    from  Winslow,  the  governor  of  Plvl    Tu  "'  P''^«^f'%  camo 

Bettled  within  the  jur,"l^  tion  of  tl.T      '      ""^'f  ''"  ^^^'^'^  ^^  ^'''^d 
for  fear  of  offenee  to  t  ei       owe  rd  ,?  ""^  '^^"^'^''"^  ^i"'. 

remove  yet  a  little  farther  '"ne  fi  n"'    "'';'  ^"^'^-h-^et*-.  tJ 

Panlybuilt  duelling  wereVnnt.f:;^'!^"^''  ^f  ''' 
passed  down  Seekonk  rivor  in  „        ^^''/'"^  witti  hve  comrades  he 

i"  .he  wilderness  As  :  "  ddl^dT'  "  T"'  "'  *^  ''^"^  >'^'^  '^-P- 
"'oI.igh  western  bank  s  uted  t  i  i^  /''  """^^'  ^"  ^"^•«"  «« 
^••-,  Netop,*  wh:t  el^err  E  ;,r  tZ  ''""^^7'  "^^''»^ 
country,  the  exiled  prea-herinrn.^  ^""^  '''"''  »  ft^-^'J^ 

'1.0  no. colony  of  '' P  oviden      p'  '^-P'""" '''  ^"^^^'^'  '-^"'^  ^«»"ded 
"lous  and  we..Uth V  ci  y T  tl  "  f^^m  '    "^  *!"  ^'^^  ^^  ^^°  P^P" 

'-our  of  this  little  IJs  tion  of^r"-"  t  "•'"^-  '^'«  *''« 
^l-mnjority  should  govern  civil  nf  'P'"^'?'.*^^^  -'^^'-d  that 
the  settlement  speedify  becnme  w^l  W  r''  ""f  '"  """'  "'f'^'"'  «'»J 
itshould-"a  sholtorf  '     ^  Wilhams  had  earnestly  desired 

a  shelter  for  persons  distressed  in  conscience.- 

_VoL.IV.-36         '    *"■""'• 


hm'i 


112 


THE  PEOrLK'8  BOOK  OF  IIISTOBY. 


lly  Ills  influence  witli  the  NurriigivnHctt  sachemH,  land  and  tlioper- 
nii.sHioii  to  sotllo  had  been  obtained;  and  this  inllueftee,  two  years 
nftiT  the  foundation  of  Providence,  was  again  exerted  in  behalf ofa 
large  number  of  pensons,  expelled  from  MaHHaehuaetts  aa  liorctics, 
but  "lovingly  entertained"  at  the  now  colony  of  religious  freedom. 
On  very  moderate  terma  he  procured  for  them  a  grant  of  the  beauti- 
ful island  of  Uliode  Island,  whieh  has  since  given  its  name  to  tho 
entire  state,  and  a  very  jlourishing  settlement  soon  »i)rang  up  tliero. 
"  It  was  not  price  or  money,"  he  writes,  many  years  afterwards,  "tliat 
could  have  purchased  Rhode  Island.  It  was  obtained  by  love;  by 
the  lovo  ami  favor  which  that  honorable  gentleman  Sir  Henry  Vanu 
and  myself  had  with  tiie  great  sachem  Miantonimo,  about  the  league 
wliieh  I  i)roeured  between  tho  Ma.H.sachusetts  English  and  tho  Ni\. 
ragun.Hctts,  in  the  Pctiuot  war."  (That  war,  with  tho  causes  which 
originated  it,  and  the  important  induenco  of  Williaina,  in  behalf  of 
the  English,  will  presently  be  recounted.) 


SETTLRMENT  OF  CONNKCTICUT  BY  PLYMOUTH:    HY  MA88ACHD- 
8 EXT 8.  —  H. MIDSHIPS  OP  THE  COLONISTS.  —  FOUNDATION  0? 

HAUTFOKD,   ETC. EMIOUATION   U  N  D  E  II  llOOKEIt:    NEW 

HAVEN  FOUNDED.  —  CO.M  M  li  N  C  K  M  E  NT  OF  THE  PEQUOT 
WAll.  —  INFLUENCE   OF    llOQER  WILLIAMS. 

A  SETTLEMENT  on  the  fertile  banks  of  tho  Connecticut  river  had 
been  projected  at  an  early  day,  and  the  flourishing  commonwealtli 
of  Miussachusetts  had  been  urged  to  undertake  it;  but  the  authorities 
of  that  province,  deterred  by  many  opposing  circumstances,  especially 
the  dread  of  Indian  hostility,  had  deferred  or  neglected  it.  With 
more  courage  and  enteri'rise,  the  little  colony  ui  I  '1  y  iuouih  undertook 
tho  tJisk.  Tlicnce,  in  October  of  IGi]^,  WHiii'n  nubn.js  sailed  il 
the  Connecticut  in  a  vessel,  carrying  the  .xui..^  of  a  iiouse,  and  a 
small  number  of  men,  to  establish  a  trading  post,  and  perliaiw  a 
plantation.  Passing  up  that  river,  he  was  warned  off  by  the  Diitoli, 
who  had  a  small  fort  at  what  is  now  known  as  Hartford,  but  sailed 
on,  and  built  his  h.  >e  a  few  miles  above,  a  little  below  the  junction 
of  the  Farmington  and  Connecticut  rivers. 


;y. 

land  and  the  per- 
ucAco,  two  yeiirs 
ted  ill  bohiill'ofa 
Motta  lis  heretics 
jligioua  freeilom. 
unt  of  tho  beauti- 
itH  nuiiio  to  tho 
Hpraiig  uj)  tliero. 
allorwardH,  "tiiat 
ned  by  love;  by 
.  Sir  Henry  Vuim 
,  about  the  letiguo 
lah  and  the  Niu 
tho  causes  which 
una,  in  behalf  of 


HY  MASSACHU- 
OUNDATION  OP 
OOKEll:    NEW 
HE  rEQUOl 
-IAM8. 


iccticut  river  had 
ig  conunonvvealtk 
but  the  authorities 
stances,  especially 
t^'lected  it,  With 
,  aio'uh  undertook 
!lo1'  )8  sailed  fc  ■ 
jf  a  House,  and  a 
3t,  and  perhaps  a 
oH'  by  the  Diitoli, 
irtford,  but  sailed 
jelow  the  junction 


IHI 

HHII 

i 

" 

i /|!i|'i|i|!|»g 


\%£-'  -;'^ 


I      3! 


■<HjL'iL..'  -'    "■   ■^..'^i^.^:-:.:.. 


^:,  - . 


^mif,  ^  'f^'.^s^f'^V^  7,,  ,^ 


THE  SETTLEMENT  or  NEW  MOLAND  jjg 

children-took  up  their  march  weLnrrlfYr"'  '^'''"^"'  ^"d 
people,  their  supp^ie^  cut  otb;!? 'e X^Hh"^^^^^^^^^  ^'^^^^ 
great  hardships,  and  numbers  betook  hemlivl  to.r"'  '""^'''^ 
May,  the  next  year,  a  much  larger  emiSon  1.  .  '°''*-  ^" 
colonists,  under  the  Rev  ThomS  TTn  f  ^  '"'''^~^  ^""d'-ed 
eMuence  and  piet,,  .L^'Z^o^:^^?^:  ^Zr?'""'.  '^'  '^^ 
numerous  drove  of  cattle  the  mill   nf    v  u  ^  direction.     A 

way,  was  driven  befor  them  sill  ./i  '"'^"'"'^  *^^™  "°  th« 
bJ;  at  Hartford,  Wethe  lid  Id  ^  7"'^  '^'  ^^^^^^^  b««- 
ernment  had  been  institut:d!faVe  l,t;'l;^^^^  f"?  f  ^o.. 
1636,  about  eight  aundred  settlers  had  made  tW  '  "{'^'^''' 
of  the  Co»necticut.  ^  ^^^'"^  ^'^^  to  the  banks 

Not  long  afterwards  CAnril   1fi^R\  a  ,,„        i 

founded  at  New  Haven  under  thfL  7"  '.  °"^  °^  P""*^"«  ^«^ 

and  the  Rev.  John  CeZll  th^  .    ?  ^^^^'^^"^"^  ^^*«»' 

fo.  t.e.    .ears  ^^^Z^ ^^2^ :^^:::^  ^^vr ' 

and  plantations,  snrineins-  fmm  +!,,•„  fe^vernor.      V  illages 

.i..r^  of  long  i,„„rioiT  An  Mit:f  :r'«'^  *°«  *» 

England,  almost  immedhtelv  ,fV.,  ,K    ^    j        '  ""=  '''^»  '"  New 
..  .He  ConnecHcn,  n,etS  £  rrr^/lt^  °""™="'' 

lare  ensued.  Cotton  Mather,  indeed  Jo  ■  fi,  ,  "" "'^'"■o"^  "•»'■ 
n-atter,  as  nsnal,  to  ,1,  j;,,.  i.Irve  on  of  tl,"°  "  ""=  "'■°'° 
denies  of  cl.nrches,"  he  says  •'yjZZ  ,  1  "°™^-  '"T™ 
-«•-,  within  the'  bouir'of  t -Fn^lanTt'^''''''.""^  "  """' 
evil  to  take  .he  „,„,„„,  ,„,  „ake  „tt  Int™  "™  Z"  ""^ 
tbe^«„m,vhioh  the  Lord  Te„,.Pl,  •.  '^        opposition  to 

.*»»<,»■*  »/fc  „,.,/,  iv Jz^  r' r  '°"*  '".''"'^  "<■  "'-» 

,  ««cles,  whose  wholf  ,rfU  was  .1  'or""',"'  """  ■""''""' '" 
«»'»).  should  not  be  acted  bvTe  dlVw  ''  ""  '"'''  "^  *"''■ 
»nd  bloodv  action  for    i!l  l-.if  !        7''  '°  ™S"ge  in  some  early 

J  *;."  iflT-"'  '!«  '"'°'«  --gl.t  of  radian  hostility  „., 
"  ""  "'°  '^^"W"  settlements  of  Connecticut.    The  7,. 


It  : 


lU 


THJi   PEOPLK'S   UOOK   OF   lllS'fOiiV. 


quota  kept  constant  watch  to  surprise  all  stragglers,  and  frequently 
put  their  captives  to  death  with  the  most  cruel  torments,  A  small 
fort  had  been  erected  by  the  English  at  Saybrook,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  the  little  garrison,  under  their  governor,  Gardiner, 
held  out  against  the  besieging  savages  with  much  resolution.  Sas- 
sacus,  the  principal  sachem  of  the  hostile  tribe,  now  used  every  ex- 
ertion to  gain  the  alliouec  of  his  old  encn\ies,  the  Narragaiisetts, 
sending  amba^  adors  to  Canonicus  and  Miantonimo,  urging  every 
motive  of  policy  and  self-preservation  for  the  relinquishment  of  tlieir 
feud  and  uniting  their  arms  against  the  common  enemy.  This  piece 
of  diplomacy  was  defeated  by  the  agency  of  lloger  Williams,  whose 
influence  with  those  great  sachems  has  been  already  mentioned, 
and  who,  at  the  request  of  the  Massachusetts  authorities,  jiroinptly 
set  forth  in  his  canoe,  and  made  his  way,  in  a  dangerous  sto#n,  to  the 
Narragansett  court.  There  he  stayed  for  three  days,  countervailing 
by  his  persuasions  the  argumei>ts  of  thp  Pequot  ambassadors,  whosti 
hands  were  still  reeking  with  the  blood  of  his  countrymen,  and 
"from  whom  he  nightly  looked  for  their  bloody  knives  at  his  throiit 
also."  These  persuasions,  combined  with  ancient  enmity,  outweighed 
the  influence  of  the  Pequots,  and  Canonicus  entered  into  league  witli 
the  English, 


THE   PEQUOT   WAR,    CONTINUED. — TIIK   ATTAj"   ON   WETHER?-  \ 

yiin.l). EXl'RDITION   UNDER  MASON.  —  SURPRISE   AND  STOIlJt- 

INO    OF    THE    PKQUOT    FORT:    TERRIBLE    SLAUOHTER    AND  ; 

CONFLAGRATION.  —  FINAL   DEFEAT   AND   DESTRUCTION  \ 
OP   THE    TRIBE.  —  BARBAROUS    E  X  U  LT  A  T  I  0  N    0  P   T  IIB 

EARLY    HISTORIANS. REFLECTIONS.  j 

In  A])ril,  1637,  the  Pequots  attacked  the  little  town  of  Wethers-  j 

field,  and  killed  nine  of  the  settlers.     The  English  now  saw  the  ' 

necessity  for  immediate  and  energetic  action.     Ninety  men  were  | 

speedily  equipped,  find  put  under  the  command  of  Captiiin  John  ; 

Mason,  an  active  soldier,  siiid  a  piirty  of  seveJity  Mohegan  Indians,  ; 

]s(.;j,]ed  by  the  notorious  Uucas,  (then  in  revolt  .•unirnst  his  chief  and  ; 

I 


Hnsman,  Sa«o,B,)  were  peraimded  to  ioin ,),.  ,.  . 
entreating  „i,I,  were  dispatched  ,„  „  J°'"  *<' ""P^tli'lon.  Letters, 
.I.C  allied  foree  proeeeieSttt  t^^  ^  r„  7:  S  t^'^,  '"  < 
for  tl,e  eountry  „f  the  Narragansetls  inbZ  .  ^'!'"«'^-  «'  «»il 
V  surprise.  Though  appri,fl  tw!:  \"^"*"i  '»  '"''o  the  enemy 
»"  tl-  «y  to  join  L,  aC„  ftar  n/ir,,  P  *^'»*"««»  was 
of  his  design,  resolved   ostrikeahT    ^      .  "1"°"  "''<"*'  '™"' 

by  a  eonsiderable  foree  o  J.'t "e  °"','  r"'  "t^;  S'-"="ftened 
the  Narragansett  eonntry,  «■  h^re'r  '  "'""''f  ""'"™"l  f™"- 
June, a. iule  before  dayli^V  lf-',,---r.  -;  on  the  6th  of 
.wn^of  Groton.)  on  whieh  the  ^>ro.jV^<:Z^ 

The  barking  of  a  dog  gave  thp  firo*    i 
garrison,  who,  though  talenlv  snr,  T  *°  '^^^  unsuspecting 

siu.be,  hasti,,  snatcho:u,:e[7r  r :::;:  r  f '  t^  ?^^^-"^ 

courage.     Mason,  wearied  at  the  length  of  H  f"^^'  ^'*^^  "^"^^ 

"We  must  burn  theml"  andTn  !  f  *''«  contest,  at  last  cried, 

rnatting  in  one  of  the  wi^wl"  tI?  T^  ""T"'  "^  ^^^  *«  ^'- 
of  the  driest  and  ,nost  co-n^U^e  mt^  ^ ^^  T  T  ^^"^^^^ 
bj  a  strong  wind    snrenrl  «w,-fti    ,,  ^^''",'"'^'  '^"'^  the  flames,  urged 

continued  t^  shoot' un'ttLritwsir"'  '"  '°^^'-  ""''  ™^- 
and  then  mostly  perishedin  thofl       '"  "'"""  '""^^'^^  ^^  '^'  ^'^'> 

ternptingtoesca'^.e^verlh    ,    IsadeT'^  1'^'°^"'  '"  ^*- 

people  met  the  same  terrible  fTt  "'"'"'•  ''"''^'''"'  '-^"^  ^^^ 

'"'-l-d  perished,  and  pos:ib;t^  J  ^^0;"^^.^;/^'^*  "*  ^^^^  f^" 
says  Dr.  Increase  Mather    "tb;^  n!  f        u  '''^'  sui'posed," 

-«  -re  brought  dowr;o  h  T  t  t '^Tv  ■' '"t^  "^  '''.  ''^^""* 
man,  it  would  .«eem    took  on  .c         1    ^  ^  reverend  gentle- 

f'-t«re  torment  of  L     n    "     f ''".'      r"    '"'  "  ^""'^'■''^'""S   ^'- 

in  one  day,"  an,l  of  ■,  ;orHi '  '        I     7  "'"'  '^''""^'^*  ^1"^'"  ^^  ^"^^'1 
t''eEngIi;i;,  ''and  wl^d        1     ';•?''  'T''  ''  ''''  ^^'%'-  «f 

''po;nvhiehabu,ien:^kh  i^;;;^:;;:"7YT'*T^^^ 

sending  his  cnrsod  soul  in  n  J     "''' '''•'^''  ''"'^  '^''shed  out  his  brains, 

P>-ne?s  in  hell  f    ev  '"     />::";""'  ""';"°-^^  '""^  ^-""'•^  --'  bias! 

Perhapsweca-mot      .;;  ;^^^^^^^^^^       '  T'T'  ^^'^^^^ '• 
'i«-ntimcnt  in  that  dny,^       ^j^  J  'V;-'l<;;'ge  of  tlu-state  of  pub- 

♦'"">  I'.v  pornsing  a  few  mo  e  of  '  "'^  "  '"'"''"■^'  ''^'''''^'^^ 

New  l<]ngland  hL.h.rians  ^''"""^  "^'^^'''^'^  '"^•-"  ^he  old 

"ft  was  a  fearful  si-ht  "  -n.=  \f-,  -^r    .       '^r       . 

o"t,    ..,ys  M,.  Aforton,  (N\m^  Knglnnd's  Memo- 


116 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF   IIISTOKY. 


rial,)  "to  see  them  thus  frying  in  the  fire,  and  the  streams  of  blood 
quenching  the  same;  and  horrible  was  the  stink  and  scent  thereof; 
but  the  victory  seemed  a  sweet  sacrifice,  and  they  gave  the  praise 
thereof  to  God,  who  had  wrought  so  wonderfully  for  them,  thus  to 
enclose  their  enemies  in  their  hands,"  &c.  The  Pequots  from  other 
villages,  on  hearing  the  disastrous  tidings,  hastened  in  numbers  to  the 
scene,  and  their  very  natural  anguish  is  mocked  by  Cotton  Mather  in  a 
strain  of  satire  as  dull  as  it  is  wicked.  "When  they  came  to  see  the 
ashes  of  their /?7c«t/A',''  ^^  says,  "mingled  with  the  ashes  t)f  the  fort, 
and  the  bodies  of  their  countrymen  so  terribly  harbikeio'd,  where  the 
English  had  been  doing  a  good  morning's  work,  they  howl'd,  they 
roar'd,  they  stamp'd,  they  tore  their  hair;  and  though  they  did  not 
sioear  (for  they  knew  not  how)  yet  they  ciirs\l,  and  were  the  pictures 
of  so  many  devils  in  desparation."  Is  not  the  feeling  which  prompted 
this  truly  diabolical  sentence  identical  with  that  which  animates  the 
red  warrior  when  beholding  his  foe  consuming  at  the  stake  or  run- 
ning the  gauntlet  through  innumerable  blows? 

Separated  into  small  bodies,  the  Pequots  were  speedily  cut  off, 
in  detail,  by  the  victors.  Closely  pursued  by  their  allied  enemies,  a 
portion  retreated  westward,  and  finally,  in  a  swamp  at  Fairfield, 
after  a  brave  defence,  were  completely  routed.  Most  of  the  warriors 
were  slain,  and  the  women  and  children  were  made  slaves,  a  portion 
being  shipped  to  the  "West  Indies.  Sassacus,.  and  a  small  body  of 
his  warriors,  took  refuge  among  the  Mohawks,  but  were  put  to 
death  by  that  inimical  tribe.  Several  hundred  of  the  broken  niUion, 
on  one  occasion,  were  taken  by  the  English  in  the  Narragansett 
country.  "The  men  among  them,"  says  the  Reverend  William 
Holland,  "  to  the  number  of  30,  were  turned  presently  into  Charon's 
ferry  boat,  under  the  command  of  Skipper  Gallop,  who  dispatched 
them  a  little  without  the  harbour."  "Twas  found,"  says  Reverend 
Cotton  Mather,  "the  quickest  way  to  feed  theyj,s/)e,s'  with  em."  The 
women  and  children  were  enslaved.  Thus  thinned  by  mas.sacre  and 
transportation,  the  forlorn  relics  of  the  tribe  thereafter  remained  in 
entire  subjection  to  the  victors. 

"In  reading  accounts  like  these,  it  seems  hard  to  determine  which 
is  the  savage  and  which  the  child  of  civilization — and  the  hasty 
conclusion  would  be,  that,  except  in  the  possession  of  fire-arms  to 
defeat  the  Indians,  and  of  letters  to  record  their  destruction,  the 
authors  and  approvers  of  such  deeds  v^ere  but  little  in  advance  of 
the  unhappy  race,  whose  extermination  left  room  for  their  owa 


TilJi   SKTTLliMJwNT 


OF   NKW    ENGLAND. 


117 


increase  and  prosperity.     But  until  ..„..  i      • 

disgrace  of  scenes  narulld  i   '1  °?'  '^''^  ''  ^''^  f''«'»  ^^^ 

the  advantage  of  tCo  t  ^^^^^^  T'""^  ^^  ^'^^  -^^  ^-ve  had 
question  with  too  great  evtvtl "/"!""'/  ^"  ^'''«'™-  "«  ^■« 
existence,  in  the  wiU  nes!  not  on  '  f""  ''  ""^  ^^'•"-''"g  f- 
those  ha;dships  and  un^iah^r  w.M  '  "7'^^'  '^"'  ^*^*  "'^^^  ^" 
iierce,  callous,  and  ^ruru  ou  ,  ,)'  '  '"''^'^  '^'  ^'''''  ^^  ^-- 
The  most  di  agreea^Zt  'f  tl  ^I't'"''  of  self-preservation, 
.narked  before,  is  the  flcndlh  V^  ."''"''''  "''  ^^  '"-^^^  ^'^■ 
who,  sitting  in  t^^ernrndtS  Tl  °"  ''  ''''  ^^'^''"^'^^  ^"«^«"-^. 
godl'ess  snels  an^  i^^^^^^^^^^^^^  and  Ipswich,  record  with 

patriots  of  the  soil  '  '^''*  '"'^  ^"^'^""^^^  ^^  ^he  savage 

tical  dictation  had  made  thern! tf 'irt.f     "°,'^"''^''' "^  ^°^'^«''^«- 

elation  at  their  defeat  mLTTT  ^  vanquished,  or  any 

*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  America. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  MAEYLAID. 


Sm  GEORGE  CALVERT;    HIS    SCHEMES    FOR    SETTLEMENTS   IN 

AMERICA;    HE  OBTAINS  THE  GRANT   OF  MARYLAND;    FOUNDS 

A    COLONY    THERE.  —  SETTLEMENT     OF     ST.    MARY'S. — 

RELATIONS   WITH   THE    INDIANS. — EXPULSION  OF 

CLAYBORNE.  —  DISCONTENT   AND   INSURRECTION, 

PROTESTANT   SETTLERS.  —  ACT    FOR   THE 

TOLERATION  OF  ALL  CHRISTIAN  SECTS. 


Sir  George  Calvert,  a  secretary  of  state  under  James  I.,  having 
conscientiously  become  a  Catholic,  and  finding,  in  the  adoption  of 
this  proscribed  faith,  an  insuperable  bar  to  political  ambition  at 
home,  had,  from  an  early  day,  directed  his  cxertioius  to  the  enter- 
prise of  peopling  and  governing  new  regions  in  America.  He  bad 
made  strenuous  and  protracted,  but  unavailing  endeavours  to  found  a 
permanent  and  prosperous  settlement  on  the  rugged  shores  of  New- 
foundland; and,  finally,  turned  his  attention  to  the  milder  and  more 
fertile  regions  of  Virginia.  Ilis  desire  to  plant  a  colony  there  being 
thwarted  by  the  prejudice  of  the  authorities  against  liis  faith,  be 
returned  to  England,  where  liis  court-favour,  despite  this  obstacle, 
being  good,  he  obtained  from  the  crown  the  grant  of  an  extensive 
region  northward  of  the  southern  bank  of  the  Potomac,  and  extend- 
ing to  the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude. 

Over  this  wide  tract,  almost  unlimited  personal  jurisdiction  was 
conferred  on  him,  with  some  reservation  in  favour  of  self  government 
by  the  settlers;  and  the  title  of  Lord  Baltimore,  which  he  received 
at  the  same  time,  was  an  additional  proof  of  the  royal  flwour.  In 
honour  of  the  queen,  ITenrietta  I^faria,  hu  bestowed  on  the  region  of 
his  projected  colony  tlic  name  of  i^faryland.  Before  the  iiniil  ratifi- 
cation of  the  charter,  he  died,  but  his  rights  were  confirmed  to  bis 
son  Cecil,  the  second  Lord  Baltimore,  who  devoted  himself  witb 


_J 


il  jurisdiction  vns 


mncl,  energy  to  the  TOra,,lrtio„  „n,i»  ail,„..,  ,,,,„      ,     „ 

1633,  l.e  dispatehed  l,i»  brother  Leon tro!,!    ^     ^?  N°«mK 

Po,e,  to  round  the^n  S .tS^'t '",  7  ^'^'='''  ">«  ^*  ""1 
.t  I'oiMt  Comfort,  in  Vir..i„  a  where  .1,  t  """T"^  ''"'"  "'"<='"='' 
Jiality,  .Noy  wero^„„rte;^l\:tr;dt'tl,e",,"°  "'""""  ""■ 
»l»,e,.  of  t,.e  <o.l».ngyear,;oe::rd^^t,:1>o    1T''°"'  "'  '" 

i.Xr:::rr'i;r:;'^kt"M  ^■"'""'*°"  "'*  "■«  -«- 

and  l.o.pt    ;  a  dTh^r^^^^  '^f  -'--din-y  ki„d„e„ 

.l..y  obtained  tt  on  ;  a  Ht  tra^tt)  T,T'  ^''"P"'"  ■"■''«"•». 
tali;  witl,  the  corn  grol  "LI,  Ct  "li  '  '  ^7^"'  "'^*  ""»«« 
vklcclwilhcomforlabrele  er  Tl't  ""^,"""',=  "'"^  »'  ""«  P™- 
w..l.t.,e  native  inbabilr^n^l^flft^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

rrrSodi  "r"-''- ,™«' »«-  «contin^„:  r:  r 

'  S;    f::t"^,r;i'  "■"',  ^  ;°"«  -'«-»'  of  peace  sueeeed  d 

proprietary  to  vioUlT/  enterprise,  was  summoned  by  the 

kZ      f       V  ''^''  '"  '>'"'S  ^^'itln.1  the  limits  of  his  mtent 

Dcpue  forcible  remonstrance,  both  from  Viroiui.  and  tl      F     i    u 
govonnncnt,  Baltimore  resolved  toenforo.  t   1°  /    °'''^ 

an  anueal  to  ■n-m.      Aff  joentoice  tins,  obnoxious  claim  by 

te.-.t.  were.mlid^p^l:^:;:"::^^;^:  "^''*  f-"'^-  -d  its 

l"'-^I..,:s,  but,  on  S;, '^  ,  r  S;X^  ^"f^'^  .^'!-  -cent 
-J--1  party,  the  Conuuis.ioner   of  PI    i  I  f    i^T'?"''  ''  '^'' 

--g  the  violences  and  wr    ;    l^^'rt^  CK t"  ^T" 
-  oon,,,ai,.d  o^  they  fbund  a:  ca^ 'w    t  ^2.  ^L:  "  &f 

«i""i--oause   iMit'  I2h   f      ^  ,       ''  f  tllements  originating  in  a 

^0  ^'11.  at  leas;  onh  'Z     r    ;  ^T    ^^''^T"^  ^""',^^  ^^^'^^'^'^ 
proprietor  to  ahno  t  .,>,      T  !       overbearing  elaims  of  the 


^20  THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HIBTOKY. 

actual  insurrection,  by  which  Calvert,  the  governor,  was  compolloil 
to  retreat  into  Virginia.  The  government  of  the  proprietor,  a  year 
or  two  al'lcrwards,  was  reinstated — an  amnesty  being  granted  for  all 
political  on'euccH.  In  1049,  the  year  (if  tlic  king's  execution,  tlio 
people,  taking  advantage  of  the  success  of  the  revolutionary  party  in 
England,  wrung  from  Lord  Baltimore  an  act  by  which  some  portion 
of  legislative  power  was  secured  to  their  deputies. 

To  increase  the'  population  of  his  province,  that  nobleman  now 
began  to  invito  Protestant  settlers,  both  from  New  England  and 
Virginia.  The  former,  strongly  prejudiced,  declined  the  invitation, 
but  from  the  latter,  on  account  of  the  arbitrary  spirit  of  the  autlior- 
itios,  great  numbers  migrated  to  Maryland.  In  1649,  the  Catholic 
assembly,  to  their  honour,  passed  a  statute,  explicitly  declaring 
(what  had  always  been  matter  of  custom  in  the  province)  perfect 
freedom  in  matters  of  Christian  faith.  "Whereas  the  enfoi'cing  of 
the  conscience  in  matters  of  religion,"  proclaims  this  liberal  enact- 
ment, "hath  frequently  fidlen  out  to  bo  of  dangerous  consequence  in 
those  commonwealths  where  it  has  been  practised,  and  for  the  more 
quiet  and  peaceable  government  of  this  province,  and  the  better  to 
preserve  mutual  love  and  amity  among  the  inhabitants,  no  person 
within  this  province,  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be 
any  ways  troubled,  molested,  or  discountenanced  for  his  or  her  reli- 
gion, in  the  free  exercise  thereof"  The  object  sought  in  the  explicit 
enactment  of  this  statute  was,  doubtless,  as  well  to  attract  and  con- 
ciliate Protestant  emigration,  as  for  self-protection  in  event  of  the 
Catholics  themselves  falling  into  the  minority. 


THK   SETTLEMENT   OF   MABVLAND. 

CHAPTER   n. 


121 


PPv,WT,  ^  — VICTORY   OF   THE    PllOTKHT ANT8. 

-FFNDALL-S   INSURRECTION..   HIS   SUCOEHS   AND 
FINAL    KUIN.-TOLERATION   RESTORED. 

oath  of  aiicw  to  Lci  B^j^tri f,  rero'rit'r 

gance,  as  appeared  to  them  "far  fan  hurh  e     i,  ^^  such  arro- 

rro  vLl^a  ,f '"^      ,'■!«  7"^'  governor,  and  ,l,e  latter  sec 
ff        f  *"■«'"»,  tlicy  speedily  f„u„d  o<.easi„„  t„  ;       j 

7r  '  ,     "r"-„^"""""'^  »^  ""'y  'o  claim  .ho  „„mi„aZ'of  Ist 

^iralrto  CO,,   r     '°'"7''""^'  "'""''  ■"= '""'  '"Je^vourcdV 

"au  wtr  ::r,'"  -r  '^°  '>'-s"iS^,"  r.± 

0  2!^,M    *,{•  "'■■''"«  "="'"''''='"■  "  "■■^•*1  »«'".  i"  tlic  support 


122 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OK   HISTORY. 


Tlirco  months  of  ncgotiiition  cnaiictl,  when  the  commisHion,  re- 
solving to  carry  matters  with  a  high  hand,  set  forth  for  Maryland, 
and  issued  a  i)rochunation  deposing  him,  and  declaring  Cromwell  the 
head  of  the  government.  AVith  a  strong  foreo  of  Protestants,  they 
advanced  against  the  governor,  who,  on  his  jiart,  could  gallier  hut  a 
comparatively  small  and  tinnd  levy  of  the  ojjposite  sect  and  faction. 
Tn  despair  of  success,  he  resigned  his  authority  into  the  hands  of  the 
two  commissioners,  who,  thereupon,  appointed  ten  others,  to  adminis- 
ter alVairs  in  the  several  departments.  By  an  edict,  the  same  siini- 
mer,  they  deprived  the  Catholics  of  their  elective  franchise;  and  the 
next  assembly,  strongly  Protestant,  repealed  the  act  for  universal 
toleration,  so  far  as  tlie  obnoxicms  religion  was  concerned. 

Though  this  bigoted  act  was  not  carried  to  the  extreme  of  actiuil 
jierseeution,  it  naturally  produced  great  resentment  in  the  minds  of 
the  aggrieved  sect.  To  be  thus  excluded,  at  least  by  the  law,  from 
the  province  they  had  founded,  and  to  see  their  religion,  a  refuge  fljr 
which  had  induced  them  to  undertake  their  exile,  proscribed  by 
aliens,  was  more  than  human  patience  could  endure.  The  Catholics 
and  others  attached  to  the  house  of  Baltimore,  rallied  aroiuid  tho 
govei'nor,  and  soon  presented  a  formidable  attitude.  They  seized 
on  the  public  records  at  Patuxent,  reduced  a  considerable  tiactof 
country  to  submission,  and  advanced  upon  the  chief  station  of  tlie 
I'rotestant  party,  at  Providence,  in  Anne  Arundel.  Overawed  at 
tliese  formidable  demonstrations,  the  latter  made  overtures  of  peace, 
and  even  of  submission,  but  receiving  no  answer,  resolved  to  li;^ht 
the  quarrel  out.  In  March,  1055,  the  Catholic  force,  two  hundred 
and  iifty  strong,  sailed  up  the  Severn  and  disembarked.  Tiieir  ene- 
mies, less  than  half  that  number,  made  a  desperate  stand  against 
them,  and  battle  was  joined  with  cries  of  "lley  for  St.  Mary!"  and 
"(iod  is  our  strength!"  After  a  sharp  but  brief  contest,  victory  fell 
to  tho  weaker  but  more  valiant  party  of  Puritans;  Stone,  willi  his 
cliicfonicers,  being  made  captive,  and  all  the  rest  of  his  force  except 
five  being  killed  or  made  jtrisoners.  Baggage,  artillery,  and  a  store  of 
beads  and  relies,  and  similar  "trash  wherein  they  trusted," also  fell  iiilo 
the  liands  of  the  victors.  The  life  of  the  defeated  leader  was  hardly 
saved  from  the  vengeance  of  his  enemies,  and  four  of  the  chief  per- 
sons of  his  party  were  tried  by  a  council  of  war,  and  were  executcil. 

Not  long  after  these  events,  Josias  Kendidl,  an  active  partisan  of 
the  Baltimore  faction,  rallying  the  Catludics,  raised  a  counter-insur- 
reetior.,  which  was  suppressed,  not  without  difliculty.     The  proprie- 


TUB  SETTLEMENT   OK    MAUVI.AMJ. 


123 


tary,  pleased  with  hi.s  oxcrtious,  r.ovv  appointed  him  governor,  and 
he  gamed  possoHH.on  of  tho  distriet  of  St.  Mary's.  IJy  March  1058 
by  n,  policy  and  address,  ho  contrived  to  Lve  th'o  ^  ity  f^ 
Batnnore  and  ot  hnnscf  acknowledged  throughout  tho  provLe 
Ke  ig.ouH  freedo,n.  and  tho  relinquisluneut  of  tho  obnoxious  claim 
of  the  proprietary,  wore  un.ong  the  conditions  ou  which  this  a.M'ce- 
ment  was  founded,  "■o'^'- 

When,  in  March,  IfiOO,  tidings  of  the  Restoration  of  Charles  11 
came  to  Maryland,  tho  assembly,  supposing  that  Baltimore,  oi,  ac' 
count  of  lu3  intrigues  with  tho  revolutionary  purty,  would   bo   a' 
n,ark  for  tho  royal  displeasure,  hastily  and  prematurely  disowned 
his  authority,  substituting  their  own,  in  the  king's  nan.a     But  tlu 
propnetor,  easily  making  his  peace  at  court,  was  fully  reinstated  in 
bus  privdeges,  and  speedily  sent  out  his  brother,  Phdip  Calvert  . 
governor.     Fendall,  who  had  been  implicated  in  'the  proce^:di::   ; 
heas.seinbly,  was  tried  and  convicted  of  high  treason,  but  was  suf- 
fered to  escape  with  comparatively  slight  punishment.     For  a  sub- 
sequent insurrectionary  movement,  he  was  lined,  imprisoned,  aT.d 
banished  from  the  colony.  ' 

The  population  of  the  province,  at  this  time,  (IGRO,)  has  been 
variously  estimated  at  from  eight  to  twelve  thousand,  The  Quakers 
who  had  experienced  such  persecution  in  other  colonies  (see  NeJ 
England  &c.)  resorted  th<.rc  in  considerable  numbers,  and  were 
tolerated  m  the  exercise  of  their  worship. 


VIRGINIA, 


CONTINUED. 


RKIflN   OP  ClIAIirKS   I.:    HIH   VIEWS  OP   VIRfllNIA. — YEARDLKY, 
(lOVKRNOR;    WEST:    HARVEY;    HIS    DEPOSITION    IIY    THE    I'EOPI.K; 
IIK    18   Sri'PORTEI)    JIY    THE    CROWN. WYATT.  —  SIR   WIL- 
LIAM   UKRKEI.KY,    OOVERNOR.  —  LOYALTY    OP   THE   COL- 
ONY.—  PERSECUTION  OP  DISSENTERS.  —  SECOND  INDIAN 

CONSPIRACY   AND    MASSACRE. OP  KC  H  ANC  A  NOUGH 

A     PRISONER;     HIS   SPEECH;     MURDERED     BY    A 

SOLDIER.  —  REDUCTION    OP    THE     INDIANS. — 

TRIUMPH   OP   THE   PURITANS   IN   ENGLAND, 

—  ROYALIST   EMIGRATION  TO  VIRGINIA. 

—  LOYALTY    OP    THE    PROVINCE. 

The  main  objoct  of  Charles  I.,  from  the  time  of  his  accession  to 
the  throne,  in  governing  Virginia,  seems  to  have  been  to  derive  as 
great  a  pecuniary  )ir()fit  from  it  as  possible.  Sufficiently  arbitrary 
in  his  domestic  policy,  he  j)robably  regarded  any  republican  spirit 
in  this  weak  and  distant  colony  as  too  incoiiHidcrable  to  deserve  bis 
attention;  while,  continually  seeking  the  means  of  supporting  a 
government  without  the  necessity  of  resorimg  to  parliament  for 
supplies,  his  only  anxiety  was  to  derive  as  large  a  revenue  as  pos- 
sible from  tlie  importation  of  tobacco.  Wlien  Wyatt,  in  1026, 
returned  to  England,  Sir  George  Yeardley,  the  author,  as  it  were, 
of  Virginia's  political  freedom,  was  appointed  governor.  Under  his 
just  and  equal  administration,  the  province  prospered  and  incrensod 
greatly  in  numbers;  as  many  as  a  thousand  emigrants  arriving  in  a 
single  year.  He  dif^d  in  1627,  leaving  a  high  character,  and  a 
memory  revered  by  the  people.  Francis  West  was  elected  his 
successor,  as  governor,  by  the  couneil,  which,  in  such  case,  Avas 
authorized  to  fdl  the  vacancy.     John  Uarvey,  who,  soon  after,  was 


i'fi    11 


VIRGINIA. 


125 


omtod  ],y  tho  k.ng  f,  that  cfT.co,  an.l  who  arrivo.l  iu  Virginia  in 
|L>!.,  uppcarH  by  h.s  system  of  fuvouritis.n,  to  have  excite Tu 
'i;-"t-'t  ."  the  province,  which,  nevertheless,  by  its  ,k  1 L  "  •' 
of  government,  enjoyed  a  good  share  of  prospeHty  anclVrm     „     A 

The  cession  to  Lord  Baltimore  of  a  largo  tract,  which  the  Vir.in- 
I  mns  had  a  ways  been  accustomed  to  consider  as  lyin-^  within  thi 
I    o.n  jur.sd.ct,on,  created  no  little  alarm  and  uneasi.,tj      L 

mvever,  who  was  a  strong  partisan  of  tho  crown,  when  Clayl  o  V' 
i  ofoa te.  and  outlawe.l  in  Marylan.l,  took  refuge  n  Virgin)/  „.,  .  ; 
rom  talon,  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  extrt  an  influ  co  vc 
the  ,ster  province,  sent  the  fugitive  a  prisoner  to  England  ^e 
people,  and  tho  majority  of  tho  council,  in.lignant  at  thi  a  i  sn  n 
.nar,ly  epnscd  the  governor,  appointing  Captain  John  We  V  Ih 
place  t,ll  the  k.ng's  pleasure  conld  bo  known.     Supported  W      e 

0  hold  until  1(J3»,  when  he  was  replaced  by  Sir  Francis  Wvutf ' 

.0  years  afterwards,  (February,  1642,)  Sir  William  Be  keeyn 

.n.  appointed  to  that  oir.ce,  arrived  in  Virginia,  where  by    ,W 

d-ah,grcement  with  the  legislature,  many  impro;emr;  wer    made 

-he_c.v.l  code,  and  important  acts  wer^  pied  for  the  benero? 

To  a  province   like  Virginia,   alike  prosperous  and  loyal    the 

IS  (  1    hurch,  the  colonial  government  even  went  to  the  lenirth  of 
an  espcci.ll  order  being  issued  m   1(!48,  by  the  council   for  tho 

motility  with  the  Tndi.ns,  long  confined  .to  sudden  forays  and 
petty  skinnishes,  in  the  next  year  ripened  to  a  general  2     I  e 

z^:iX::rT'  ^-^^^^^  -^  ^"^'^  ^™-  --  ^-  ^^ 

tt^i  on    1  e  ^?    r      "T'^'  '"'•"   ^""^'^'-^^^^    «   .si.nuUaneous 
•'tfack  on  the  intrud-jrs.     On  the  18th  of  April   l(i44  the  fmntipr 

I  "  victims    but  the  assailants,  losing  heart,  their  (lesion  only  com 
n-ccd  returned  to  the  forests,  where  thei;  enemies  wCot  oi" 
'n  P-umg  them.     In  this  war,  Opechancanongh.  so  long  thTterro? 


M 


n\ 


126 


TUE  I'KorLE'S    IJOlHC   OK   JIISTOKY, 


of  the  whites,  was  made  priKoiier.  He  wjt.s  now  in  oxtromo  old  jifro 
being  unable  to  raise  his  eyelids,  wlueli,  when  he  desired  to  see 
were  opened  by  his  attendants.  Being  brought  before  the  governor' 
a  speetaulc  for  the  eager  curiosity  of  the  crowd,  he  said,  hanglitily 
"Had  Sir  William  Berkeley  fallen  into  my  hands,  I  would  not  have 
exposed  him  thus  to  the  gaze  of  my  people."  A  ruffianly  soldier 
to  avenge,  it  is  said,  some  former  grievanee,  extinguished,  by  a  cow- 
ardly murder,  the  feeble  spark  of  life  yet  lingering  in  his  franiu. 
These  successes  were  followed  up  with  much  vigour,  repeated  incur- 
sions being  made  against  the  Indians;  and,  in  1646,  peace  wius 
concluded  with  Necotowanee,  their  chief,  (the  successor  of  Opoclian- 
canough,)  on  terms  of  submission  and  cession  of  territory. 

This  dilRculty,  (the  last  with  tlie  natives  in  their  immediate  vicin- 
ity,) thus  overcome,  the  "Virginian  settlements  continued  to  iiicrcasu 
and  prosper.  In  the  winter  of  1618,  more  than  thirty  vessels,  at 
one  time,  were  trading  in  their  ports.  The  number  of  colonists  had 
risen  to  twenty  thousand;  and  the  triumj)h  of  the  Puritans  in 
England,  compelling  the  opposite  party  to  exile,  brought  about  an 
emigration  of  numerous  loyalists  and  cavaliers,  some  of  tlieni  moii 
of  distinction.  The  loyalty  of  the  province,  confirmed  by  this  means 
stood  firm  for  the  House  of  Stuart.  Immediately  after  the  execu- 
tion of  Charles,  the  government  of  Virginia  had  recognized  his  son 
and  the  latter,  from  his  retreat  in  Berda,  had  sent  to  Berkeley  a  iiuw 
commission;  and  that  officer,  in  1651,  wrote  to  the  king,  with  ardent 
expressions  of  attachment  and  fidelity,  and  even  hinting  the  advisa- 
bility of  his  taking  refuge  in  his  American  colonies.  It  was  <lcemed 
possible,  by  the  over-sanguine  cavaliers,  that  this  little  province, 
the  last  to  submit  to  the  commonwealth,  might  make  u  successful 
stand  for  royalty  against  the  entire  power  of  England. 


\i' 


VIRGINIA. 


127 


CHAP  TEH   11. 


ACTFOIt   TJfE    UKDUOTION    OP   VIRofnt, 
ACT,-JIOJ,];UATION   01'   TJIJ-    Im     ,, 7,  :"^    NAVIGATION 

A«,»  ,»»,!  in  jr,I,  dcprivo,    if  ,?■  •■"""■l"="N«vig.li.m 

««  1./  K"Kli.sl,  v.;,e|,.     cr,;i°  ,rf '    'T'V'^"''"  "'»'™'-ric.d 

ai»  le,„c„.,y.    Two  „r  ,l,o  .1,,,,.  ,«  ZV'         °'    ^  """'"'■'tion 

;» »"  -iM  a,„i'  pc.r,,n„:;; ' .,  "  :';;;;:^  ""■'  '<-y  ''-"i  char^o .: 
"|.«  .„■  ,„  „,,,„3,  „„„. ,,,,,:  ';;;^7,  ;■»"-«  to  f..rcc,  Ti,„ 

Vi'SUiraiis,  not  fi,,|,„„  ...illcd  ,,'n   ,„         !      ,'"*  "^ I'"''™',  ""d  ll,o 

"»"f'  -f  .■»i,„,,„.,  t^df ,  „r  r  Lr'''"''"'""' '"'"  •■"!''«  "1° 

Pm'iles,.,,  will,  |.:,i„|i,|„„„„  .,/,  '"  •■"  "■K"Vi'nm,t.nl,  „„d  og„,,i 

''"' ' i"o„„,  :,f  r  ::;;:■ ":;;;°  '"-"7'-'  f-  'i-  coi:; 

'»«"!■  tlH,  ,„|„„i.,^  „„„     '"•  "    "''J.  '""1  tl.o  m,l„„i»,i„„  „ 

';;" ' «-«..,  n  «n,, ,?,::"  ,:f,;7'-;|  '■"  '!■=  cie„u„„ : 

"««  "f  gov,.,-,,,,,-.    ,)„  1°,    "    ,    °    f '  ''"  "'"  ''°W'.s.e.,,  ,„  ,|,e 

••"""s !■» .0 ■,- or ,«»r,,v  ";:,,■ " ■•'*-""''.^-c,-„.„„s 

Vui,.  JV-.-;j7  ' '  •'"''  '''^'■^  «  ""0  lyvcr  of 


Li. 


128 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


Virginia,"  was  chosen  to  the  same  post.  Becoming,  ere  long,  in- 
volvcd  ill  a  dispute  with  the  assembly,  he  announced  his  intention 
of  referring  the  matters  in  issue  to  the  decision  of  the  Protector. 
Alai'mcd  iit  the  prospect  of  dependence  on  a  foreign  authority,  tliat 
body  proceeded  to  make  a  bold  and  startling  declaration  of  the  pop- 
idar  sovereignty,  and  actually  deposed  Mathews,  whom  they  had 
lately  elected.  "llaving  thus  vindicated  their  dignity,  they  forthwith 
reinstated  him  in  oflice,  while  he  submitted  to  their  rcquireinoiits 
with  a  readiness  which  sufficiently  shows  that,  whatever  the  tem- 
porary disagreement,  no  serious  ill-feeling  had  existed  between 
tlic  executive  and  legislative  powers.  The  spirit  of  public  libcrtv, 
by  this  bold  demonstration,  gained  a  great  accession  of  slreiigtk 

and  firmness. 

On  the  death  of  the  Protector,  the  assembly  of  burgesses,  after 
private  deliberation,  resolved  to  acknowledge  his  son,  Richard 
Cromwell,  as  the  head  of  the  English  government;  and  when,  hy 
his  resignation  and  the  death  of  their  governor,  (1660,)  the  destinies 
of  Virginia  seemed  fallen  entirely  in  their  hands,  they  resolved  that 
the  supreme  power  should  be  lodged  in  their  own  body,  and  that 
all  writs  should  issue  in  its  name,  "until  there  shall  arrive  from 
England  a  commission,  which  tiie  assembly  itself  shall  judge  to  be 
lawful."  The  prospect  of  the  Restoration  was  hailed  with  joy  hy 
Vir<nnia,  and  the  clee,tion  of  Sir  William  Berkeley  to  the  office  of 
governor,  was  an  earnest  of  its  renewed  loyalty.  That  faithful 
adherent  to  the  House  of  Stuart,  in  accepting  the  office,  liowever, 
expressly  acknowledged  the  authority  of  the  assembly,  of  which,  lie 
said  he  was  but  a  servant,  and  waited  eagerly  for ,  news  of  the 
reerection  of  the  monarchy. 

Durin"  the  civil  wars,  the  parliamentary  government,  and  the 
Protectorate,  Virginia  had  been  steadily  gaining,  by  precedent,  for- 
tifications to  her  system  of  self-government.  Commerce  was  free, 
(for  the  Navigation  Act  soon  became  a  dciad  letter,)  and  religious 
toleration  (except  to  the  Quakers,  a  sect  at  that  time  almost  univer- 
sally proscribed)  was  fully  established.  Universal  sulfrage  of  free- 
men prevailed,  and  in  consequence  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  ami 
the  high  jirice  commanded  by  the  staple  production,  tobneeo,  re- 
markable prosperity  prevailed.  These  advantages,  uiuilloyed  by 
any  act  of  oppression  by  the  home  government,  had  rendered  the 
province  one  of  the  most  desirable  places  of  residence  in  Americ;i. 
The  elevation  of  Charles  11.  to  the  throne  of  his  fathers,  marked  by 


VIRGINIA. 


129 


.notion,  under  L  r^^Uut^^^'l^  T^l^T'^''  ''''  "^^^ 
moned  an  assembly,  whici,    from"^  «  r  '°  '  "*"'""'  «"f"- 

i"Jicated  the  pre/a'lent  :i;pr;  f '^  ^lor'^t'?  '^^^'^ 
indifterence  to  the  blessings  the  count  vhnr^"  T'^'^  '''"''^"Se 
government,  the  dominant  p.rty  at  o  e  ,!"  'T'7''^  ""^"'  ^^^'^- 
an  arbitrary  and  intolerant  natl  S  I  ^  '''^^"^  *°  ^'-^^^  '-'^^^  -^' 
bldcrs  and  householders,  the  n'isf SV?'  ''T'''  ^°  '"^• 
<=>b!i.slK.d,  and  the  pers^ution  ^  dis  e  1  '^"^  T'f  ^  ^'^^• 
compelled  them  to  seek  refu-e  in  1  ''T  '  ''"'^'  ^'•"'^  before 
)  1     11      .1     7  °         othcT  colonies,  was  renewed     Ti,« 

assembly,  hice  the  Long  Parliament,  made  its  siffL  ^ 

perpetnal,  the  members  retaining  their  se.ts  fo    mn     M  '"  "  '""""'''' 
M  iinally    dissolving  only  .I.n  ooClle    T/V  ll!;"  ^ aT' 

"i'f  -;.  -nguine  hope,  "f^.^  ^'t:;:^;^:^^  '^^'^' 
.vil  on  the  colony.  The  prov  sions  of  tl  flJ^  "f  ^nflictrng  great 
ingall  cornn.erce  to  the  pare  tcountrv  1  '^^  '"  ^'^'  ^^«*"^^- 
garded  at  an  early  day  by  the  aZ.  '     '"  ''  "'  '^''''■ 

iiillen  into  complete  di^e  T^i  r  •^""^'"^^'''  ^"^  ^^^^  ^-"erly 
acted  with  increased  str  tness  d  enf  ""r  'T'  "*"  "'^^  ^«-- 
.1.0  influence  of  the  London  m^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  --g"— 

f™tl,omonopoly,p.ovingsumeie:ur;;:,:r:;i1,.r"  ^'^'^"^^ 


and  remonstrances  of  the  colonists      fr,  v. ;      rlT  ,       *'^f"P'''^'"ts 
I'v  tl,e  Virginians,  repair  to  Zrf  ''"'  ^'''^"'«^'  '^^P'^ted 

^ntl.  all  .h:influe;ee^;:i:h  ZL^:';^^  ''^T  ''  '''  '-'' 

'l-trouse/Iectsproducedon  the  Zhc   b!  fisH  •    ""'"''"''  ^'" 
'fit.s  growing  intercourse  witi,  li,  -^  ''^''''''^'■^•''^'''etion 

l-liJloyal  colonies  ; I:  kJX X^  "^^  -"P'-  that 

„..S,inn    nt    .,.,,.,1..      ...,•,        .      "^  '""'  '^ '^"^^  ^''^^Ted   tO  Set  the  nnf  in 


ojiilty  could  command,  tl 

tll(: 

r- .■».  n;„;gi;.:  'i^:  ;:'zii::r """'™'' "'  ■■"'  ""=  -« - 

«™.l  10  „  stria  CO  ,pli,„  CO      ,Ii      ™   '";'"""^''  °f  ''''K"™  ™ 

K'ckrishMl  will,  snci,  inlenl^'J      w  .^  *"  ""'  K«">™«on, 

-»H.v  calculated  ere  . ;  to  JS:;™'  ""'  ""  ""'""™  "^  » 
pwpcrity.  ■^      ^'°™  '""^  progress  and  impair  l,cr 


P'fi 


■> 


NEW  ENGLAND, 


C  O  N  IM  N  U  E  D , 


INIMICAL    MKA8URKS    ADOl'TKl)     IN     KNOI.ANl). — Sl'IUITO? 
MASSACHUSETTS:    T  II  U  K  A  T    01'     IIKVOI.T. — T  II  K    KNOLISH 

UK  VOLUTION. INDUSTIIY   AND    I' 110  si' K  II  IT  Y    OH   NHW 

KNOI.ANl):     ITS    I  N  Dli  i'EN  1)  KNO  K.  —  NKW    II  AMI'SHIRK 

ANNKXKI)   TO    MASSACHUSETTS.  —  FORMATION 

OP    TllK    NEW    ENGLAND    CONrEDERACY. 

The  first  blow  aimed  by  tlic  Knglisli  crown  at  tlie  (growing  spirit 
of  niinfiled  froeilorn  and  intolerance  in  New  Kn^^lund,  uns  the 
appointment  of  a  coniu>ission,  consisting  of  tlio  Arciibishop  of  Can- 
tcrlmry  and  others,  with  fnll  power  to  establiali  a  government  tliere 
both  eceU'siastical  and  civil,  and  to  revoke  any  charter,  the  provisions 
of  which  inigiit  seem  to  inf'ritigc  on  the  rnyal  jirerogative.  (April, 
l(i.34.)  'I'lie  news  of  this  invidions  ordinance  awakened  uiiivers;:! 
alarm  and  indignation.  A  genera!  spirit  of  resistance  wns  ovinced, 
and  hasty  provision  wns  made  for  the  fortification  and  defence  of 
Massachnsetts.  vVll  the  clergy  of  the  ]>rovince,  as.senibled  at  Boston, 
nminimonsly  agreed  to  resist  the  ini|K)siiion  of  a  foreign  governor. 
"We  ought,"  they  declared,  "to  defend  our  lawlhl  posse.«sioii.s,  if  we 
are  able;  if  not,  to  avoid  and  protract."  A  fresh  intrigue,  directed 
against  the  peace  of  the  new  commonwealth,  was  that  of  llie  I'h- 
month  Company,  which  anrrendered  its  charter  into  tlic  king's 
hands,  its  mend)ers  hoping  to  obtain  extensive  jirivate  grants,  and 
using  all  their  influence  to  get  that  of  the  .Massachusetts  Company 
revoked.  Legal  proceedings  were  eonnnenced  against  tlio  laticr, 
but  the  death  of  Mason,  the  [latcntee  of  New  Iliiinpshiro,  and  tiie 
jirime  mover  of  these  inimical  proceedings,  prevented  tlicm  from 
being  carried  to  the  extreme.       < 


L 


r 


NEW   ENGLAND. 


131 


The  council,  in  U38,  dornandcd  of  A\^intl,ron    fl,.f   ,l 
foul.l   be  given  np;    but  the  antlu^rities    in       '.,",:,   'T' 
.lemonstrances  against  the  nmiocted  .rbi,,.  r"      r'       "^  '"■""° 

si.ch  judgrnc-nt  had  h.en  obtained  by  the  intri-uls  oH  ' 

«.ul  do,,l.,ess  owed  its  origin  to  n^^l  die^li^n  ^  i   0    ^ "  tII:: 

..ir«.i^an.istt,::::;,;:::;z':i;T^::-^^^^^ 

.n^echon  and  aIh.gianco,  and  tluTefJ...  .  1  bj  ,"  dv  i!  V  T 
themselves  under  a  new  government  for  1  r  '^  confederate 
sub.si.st..nee,  which  will  be  of  C  ^''^'"-''eocssary  safety  and 

.ions,  and  'perilou     t.    ^   I      f  irr"^''"'^'^"  T'  "''^^  '''''"'^■ 

waseneonraged  by  the  crowin.r  ,  1  1      :,      '"''^  ^^  una^ined, 

already  beginning  to  find  sufTlr.i,  nf         ,  "^  sovereign  was 

roHcfl  wiI,!er„o,a     In  fao,,  ,™„,b",,,  ,vl  o  L   , t  'V"''"''^- 

ningto  transpire.     "By  the  ve^u-     UO  tl      •  1      r         '  ^''"''  ^'S'"" 
""""Pl>nnt  faetion  at  home  was  greater  than  th-u  Z  T       "" 

invito  wnien,  considenn"  the  isimrifir  ,^r  *i        v 
eomitry,  seemed  hardly  possible      iitil  mof/.l  "''""  ""'^ 

-««:^;^or^:-K-;i;i!::;;,-:-^^^^ 

I 


M 


132 


TUK   I'KOl'LE'S   BOOK   OF  IIISTOUY, 


(tlie  staple  being  suj. plied  from  Buibadoes)  hud   already  made  ii 
coimneiicemcnt. 

As  a  matter  of  eourse,  the  Long  railiament,  the  Puritan  and 
revolutionary  element  of  vvhieh  was  so  greatly  in  the  asceiulaiif, 
looked  with  warm  sympathy  to  the  New  England  colonists;  hut  tlie 
latter  seem  to  have  avoided,  ut  first,  any  decided  eommiLineiit  of 
themselves  either  to  the  political  or  ecclesiastical  strife  which  at  tiiis 
time  raged  in  England.  From  this  distracted  condition  of  tlio 
mother-country,  and  the  favour  of  the  dominant  party,  they  caiiu;  tu 
possess,  what  they  enjoyed  for  nearly  twenty  years,  the  blessings  of 
actual  independence  and  self-government.  This,  however,  must  bo 
understood  in  the  restricted  sense  of  partial  suffrage,  and  of  the 
entirely  preponderate  influence  of  "the  church"  over  that  of  "tlie 
people."  The  most  important  political  event  of  1C42,  was  the  an- 
nexation to  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  of  the  neighhouring 
settlements  of  New  Hampshire,  which,  it  was  clairnetl,  fell  within 
the  patent  of  the  former,  and  the  inhabitants  of  which,  by  tlicir  own 
action,  conllrmed  the  claim,  and  were  admitted,  on  equal  terms  with 
the  Massachusetts  people,  as  an  integral  portion  of  that  province. 

As  early  as  1637,  immediately  after  the  dangers  of  the  Pequot 
war  had  shown  the  necessity  of  union,  a  confederacy  of  the  New- 
England  colonies  had  been  proposed,  and  in  the  following  year  had 
again  been  discussed,  but  on  account  of  the  jealousy  of  Connecticut, 
had  been  deferred.  The  latter  jirovince,  however,  wishing  assist- 
ance against  the  encroachments  of  the  Dutch,  at  length  renewed  the 
negotiation;  and  in  16-43,  the  states  of  Massachusetts,  Plymouth, 
Connecticut  and  New  Haven,  formed  a  union  for  mutual  aid  and 
protection — "the  first  germ  of  that  mighty  confederacy  which  now 
numbers  more  millions  than  its  original  did  thousands,  and  which,  ^ 
from  a  bleak  corner  of  New  Phigland,  has  extended,  for  twenty 
degrees  of  latitude,  over  the  thousand  leagues  of  mountain,  forest, 
and  prarie,  that  divide  the  two  oceans." 

The  chief  objects  of  this  alliance  were  protection  against  hostile 
savages,  resistance  to  Dutch  and  French  encroachtnont,  and  tlic 
fortification  of  the  degree  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  wliich  the 
several  colonies  had  obtained  or  permitted.  Two  commissioners 
from  each  colony  (none  but  church  members  being  cligihlc  to  the 
ofiice)  were  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  federal  govermnent,  and  to 
have  the  control  of  peace  and  war,  of  making  public  improvements, 
and,  generally,  of  any  matters  which  might  properly  pertain  to  the 


NEW    ENGLAND. 


183 


govern,no,,t  of  a  confe.lcraliun.     Those  powers,  upparci.tly  so  oxteu- 

j..^e...u.epeop,^o;Nr;;L^^^ 

Tshu„I  or  of  ProvLlcnce  Plantations,  althou-li  thev  drin.     •/ 

nuH,s  tl.an  ,t  could  l.ave  boon,  had  opinions  more  liberal  in  p  lit 
or  n,orc  tolerant  .n  reh,non,  been  permitted  to  mingle  in  its  cL     H  ' 


CHAPTEB   II. 


UXCAS  AND  MIANTONIMO.-DKPKAT  AND   DKATII  OP   THF    lATTER 

-I.FSCRE,.,T    TO    THE    OO  L,SH.-K„0.,E   ISLAnI    ,  HE, 

TIES   OUARANTKK,)    „V    THE    ]^^  R  LI  A  «  KNT.- ,,,„  ^'.    To'       , 

Hoi^v  van,.:.-k,.:maukaiu,k  phkei.om  en.,„v;|;  tiu-uk 

—  MAINE    ANNEXED    BY    MASSACHUSETTS^ 

With  u^rv^r"'?; "'''" "  '^^  ""^'^  ^^^^  «^^-t-".  ^ut  in 

wl.  di  the  Kngl.sh  uulhoraies  eontrived  to  play  a  very  discredifiblo 
part,  was  enacted  in  im.     Miar.tonimo,  the  NarragLs       sa  h  J, 

r:  n  LSr '''  '^^'^^^"''  ^^  ^'^^^^'^'^  ^^  ^^^  -'-^  ^ 

d  me?i^  7^""  -,"  '"  'g"«'"i'-"«  "^anr.er  at  Boston  and 

had  met  with    nnch  humdiation  at  the  hands  of  the  En-^lish      To 

Z%^::lr  'r  '"^'^'-'^  ''-''''  ^  ^-^-'  g^arantl^dliy  t 
w>tl  a  thousand  warriors  he  attacked  the  hostile  tribe.     De- 
ated  by  the  superior  strategy  of  his  rival,  and  taken  prisoner  he 
was  conducted  to  Hartford,  where  Uncas,  ^ith  a  mod"rubn  w hi 

Il' of  t  0     '  "r  l'         "".n"'"^  "'  ^""'^  ^^^I'^'-  ^"  the  Connnis. 
0  t     c    r  V  \'f''''-''y-     ^^^^--'.  -ting  under  advice  and  eo-.-nsel 

hi    of   f    '7^^'^'>; ,l^^'  ]'«'t  to  death,  and  delivered  him  into  the 

Kk  of  the  v.etor.     The  latter,  with  his  brother,  Arawcqua.  and 

l!      :  s';;;;'  r "l---^  ^^y  two  white  n,en,  led  his  triloner 

wawcqua,  stepping  up  behind,  sunk  his  tonuiluuvk  in  the  brain  of 


-{ 


184 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY 


tlie  victim.     The  revengeful  cliief,  it  is  miJ,  cut  u  morsel  of  flesh 
from  the  sliouldcr  of  his  enemy,  and  ate  it,  saying  that  it  was  "tlio 
Bwcclcst  meat  he  ever  eat;  it  made  his  heart  strong."     Tiic  tribe  (jf 
the  fallen  chief,  who  were  warmly  attached  to  him,  lamented  di-eiily 
over  his  unhappy  fate,  and  complained  with  bitterness  that  lan^^u 
quantities  of  waminim,  which  they  hud  sent  to  the  Mohegans  as  a 
ransom  for  his  life,  had  been  retained,  while  the  life  of  their  leader 
which   it  should    have   purchased,   was  treacherously  taken.     Ills 
brother,   Pes.<!acu.=i,  who  succeeded    to   the   command,   took   siinial 
revenge  on  the  enemy,  and,  but  for  the  interposition  of  the  Eii-lisb 
would  doubtless  have  inflicted  on  Uneas  the  .same  fate  as  that  which 
the  latter  had  wreaked  on  the  chief  of  the  Narragansetts. 

"While  the  other  New  England  provinces,  secure  in  union,  and 
holding  their  polilii'al  existence  and  po.s.scssien  of  their  territories 
cither  by  royal  charter,  or  purchase  from  the  original  grantee.^,  pie. 
sented  an  almost  unassailable  fiont  to  foreign  interference,  Khodo 
Island,  whose  only  tenure  of  po.«.session  was  that  derived  fioiii  the 
native  chieftains,  had  cause  alike  to  dread  the  ambition  and  en- 
croachment of  her  powerful  neighbours,  and  acts  of  usurpation  on 
the  part  of  the  government  at  homo.     'J'o  place  on  a  more  secure 
basis  the  state  he  had  founded,  William.s,  in  1043,  sailed  for  Enc 
land,  and  pleaded  the  cause  of  freedom  before  the  parliamentaiy 
authorities.     By  the  influence  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  who  was  now  a 
member  of  the  council  for  the  government  of  America,  and  by  tlie 
reputation  which  his  own  exertions  hud  alieady  acqniied  lor  him  a 
charter,  insuring  extraordinary  freedom  of  civil  governiTient  was 
granted  to  llhodc  Island  by  the  parliament.     On  his  return  he  Wiis 
welcomed  with  enthusiastic  gratitude  by  the  citizens,  and  the  people 
of  Providence,  in  an  eloquent  letter  of  thaidcs  to  Sir  Henry  Vane 
ex{)ressed  their  acknowledgment  of  his  continual  kindness  and  nio- 
tection.    " Fiom  the  first  beginning,"  declares  this  admirably-written 
document,  "you  have  been  a  noble  an^l  true  friend  to  an  outcast 
and  despised  people;  we  have  ever  reaped  the  sweet  fruits  of  ym 
constant  loving  kindness  and  favor.     We  have  long  been  free  from 
the  iron  yoke  of   wolvish  bishops;    we  have  sitten  dry  fioiii  the 
streams  of  blood,  s[)ilt  by  the  wars  in  our  native  country.     We  have 
not  lelt  the  new  cliains  cf  the  iircsbyterian  tyrants,  nor  in  tliisculonv 
have  we  been  consumed  by  tin;  over- zealous  Are  of  the  (so  called) 
godly  Christian  magistrates.     We  luve  not  known  what  an  excise 
means;   we  have  almost  forgotten  what  tithes  are.     We  have  Ion" 


NKW    KNULAM). 


135 


dniiik  of  tlio  Clip  of  jis  <rrcnt  lilw.nln.. 

! I'.™--. ,.n I  :,.  f r ::: -f,;'"^' '"■;', '■"»"»'■ •■ 

tlioii-h  a  very  .n'ont  (liv,.r^ifv     r  ,  ""  ""^'  ^••'■""-     Al- 

«■"' ' -«i"  1.;  rr^rt^f;,  ,,::r;  ""■'  '.■"'■"'■«""'^'- 

;iss,mll  ,„i  ii,  r,,„„.|,i,e,  -v^r  r,„,       i    ,  ^■"'^'""''  '"  '''-Ti'l  ii  <:mam\ 

.Nc ■„,«  .■i»i,c,,  ;;  :i  r' "°  ri""-"-  »i"*,  .,.,1  ,K,„ito 

|Hi,l,.i,l  ,.„v,.„„,n.,„  ,„,l  \t,  ■    I  Mi'>",  crootol  a„  i,„|„. 

.-"' -„;;,;;,;i' ;:::::;;  ;;:„;:;!;:f  »;;.?■.  •"-«'■■ '-  "■' 


]^36  THE  I'EOl'LK'S  BOOK   OF  IIISTOIIY. 


OPPOSITION   TO  THE   MASSACHUSETTS  AUTHOHITIES.  —  PARLIA- 
MENTARY  ENCROACHMENT  RESISTED  AND   RELINQUISHED,— 
NEW   ENOLAND   FAVOURED   BY   CROMWELL,  —  RIOOTED   AND 

INTOLERANT  LAWS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. PERSECUTION  OF 

BAPTISTS,  —  THE  QUAKERS:  PERSECUTION  OF  THEM:  POUR 

EXECUTED:    THEIR   COURAGE   AND   FORTITUDE.— 

APOLOGISTS  FOR  THE  HANGINGS.  —  REFLECTIONS. 

The  authorities  of  Massachusetts,  in  close  league  with  the  clergy, 
the  elders,  and  the  more  intolerant  church  party,  were  not  long  in 
awaking  a  spirit  of  opposition  among  the  partisans  of  a  more  liberal 
and  tolerant  policy.  At  an  early  day,  indeed,  that  party  had  shown 
much  jealousy  of  any  thing  like  a  prescriptive  government  or  dicta 
tion  in  elections,  and  when  it  had  been  proposed  that  the  office  of 
governor  should  be  held  for  life,  it  was  forthwith  resolved  by  the 
deputies,  that  no  magisterial  office  should  be  held  for  more  than  a 
year.  A  direct  collision  between  the  two  parties  had  occurred  in 
1645,  on  a  question  of  small  moment  in  itself,  but  involving  the 
legal  extent  of  the  authority  of  the  magistrates.  A  small  majority 
of  the  deputies  to  the  general  court  held  that,  from  the  assumption 
of  power  by  these  authorities,  the  liberty  of  the  people  was  in  dan- 
ger; the  rest,  and,  of  course,  nearly  all  the  magistrates  themselves, 
resolved  that  "authority  was  overmuch  slighted,"  and  that  there 
was  danger  of  "a  mere  democracy,"  The  popular  party,  by  the 
enactment  of  a  law  on  the  point  in  question,  obtained  a  nominal 
triumph,  but  the  magistrates,  the  governor  (Winthrop)  and  the 
clergy  retained  their  ascendency  in  the  government,  and  circum- 
stances favouring  their  purpose,  were  even  enabled  to  extend  their 
actual  power. 

In  November,  1646,  at  an  assembly  of  the  general  court  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, a  firm  stand  was  made  by  the  government  of  that  colony 
against  threatened  encroachments  by  the  parliament  on  its  inde- 
pendence. A  vehement  and  eloquent  remonstrance  was  forwarded 
to  England,  where  Winslow,  their  agent,  and  Sir  Henry  Vane,  who, 
despite  some  unkind  usage,  was  still  a  fast  friend  of  the  liberty  of 
the  colonies,  exerted  all  their  influence  against  the  anticipated  dan- 


NEW    ENQLAND. 


137 


ger.    The  parliament,  i)osstNscfl  nf  ihn  *„ 

thoir  liberties  and  refisef  n    l  f     V         ''■'""''*"'''^' ^°''«™«d 
When,  a  few  yea  s  atZif  "^^'"'^'  ^'''"'  ^^eir  justice. 

Cromwell,  as  Wo    2t  '  ^'"/"P^^'"^  Powcr  beeamo  vc.ted  in 

both  .r  'their  v i^ ^  ^  t  l" eZ;  l^o'.-eV"":'"  "^'"^'"''^ 
favour  on  the  rugged  colonists  o/Nl7Ej^n^\rf  ""'TT 
commerce,  allowed  them  full  h^Al  /  .  ^^"^  favoured  their 
wns  even  willing  to  extend  tl^'","'  °^  «^^%overnrnent,  and 
rich  island  of  jLaica  fchtV.  '^^  ^""^  '^  ^  ^'^^  "^  ^'- 
Spaniards.  ThepJotLorl  ..  .  ^'"''"^  ^^  ^'^"  ^'•"'"  ^he 
New  England  libeC   "         "  "'*'  ""  ^'^  ^^^^^"  ^^^  ^' 

The  Massachusetts  authorities,  hardened  bv  fhn,-.  .  •        , 
the  popular  party,  and  provok-ol  ^''''^''^'^.7  ^^""'^  *"""'P'i  over 

sanguinary  pe'rsec'ition,",,nS^^^  '""^'  ^^  ^'-'^ 

which  her  character  had  ev  r  rin!c  Shf  "1  '"  '"'"*  ^^'^'^ 
infidelity  and  heresy  were  ena^'H  e  pX^f  S^'"' 
denounced  against  such  as  should  deny  tL  i.f  ir.  T^  ^''"° 
of  the  Bible-anabaptism  being  mtle  .tna  ff  ''^  ''/"Z  ^'''' 
from  meeting  being  punishable°by  fine    ^         "«^^"^^-«»d  absence 

and  in  Plvmou  hTproposiror:^^^^^  ^"^^f  '"  ^^^^  ^"^'^-d- 
all,  ''-ith^utexci-ption'!        Cl^  ^^ toleration  to 

The  opponents  of  this  nhn  .If  i  i  '  ^P''''  ^'■'""""  <^°-.  &«• 
but  it  was  evid^  tly  ponuhr  v^rir  '  ^  ^'^''^^''^^S,  to  defeat  it; 
to  Winthrop,  "You  MoTd  wl  V  T''''  ''''  '''''''  "^""'^^^^^^^^ 
-  relished%o  the^r?;-^^^^^^^^^^  -'•«  ear- 

be  used  to  restrain  al  dis  o'n  t  th  i7  ""  "'  ''^  '"^  ^^^'^^^''^ 
Rhode  Island,  a  Baptist  hZnl  T  .J  "'"  '■''^'^''-  ^'''^''^''^  ^^ 
-ized,  and  compelled  t  tenf  Z7'  '"  ^''''''  ''  ^^"'"'  -- 
-ysMr.  Bancroft,  '^t  exprestd  hi^^'''''''^"''  ""^'^'"-  ^^•'--' 
cor«m,  which  vet  wouldt      T  ,'''''"''"  ^^'  '"^  ''''^'''"l^ss  inde- 

been  Voluntary"?    H  1  fil  t r    ""'  "^ "'  '^'^^'  ^"'^  P'« 
repress  the  spread  ^^:ajt^'';^^^"^  ^^  ^^  - 


J-U^ 


13S 


TIIK   I' KO  I' 1- K'S    ItOOK    ()!•'    IIISTOKY. 


tlii'ii  rn))i(ll)'  iiKTonsing  sccl  of  Quiikera — n  Bcct,  in  cxtonml  (leinoiin- 
(iiir  ami  populiir  coiiHidoration,  ulinost  tlio  revcrnc  «if  lliiit  wliich 
lii'iirs  tlic  tille  in  our  own  day.  An  cntluisiiislii!  and  pnivly  »-olf- 
nl)no}^iilinj,'  zeal  for  tlicir  failli,  caused  llii-ni  voluntarily  and  gralui- 
tonsly  to  i'X|i(.«c  tlii'insclvcs  to  the  cxtri'incHl  dangi'is  of  |>c'rsci;uti()ii; 
and  at  llic  lime  wo  write  of,  tliey  wcro  pretty  gonoialiy  proMeiihed 
tliidnyliont  tlic  Cliristian  world.  Two  women  of  tlii.s  jier-Hiiasion, 
aiiivnig  at  Ho.ston  in  Kioli,  were  seized  at  onee,  kept  in  elo.se  eoii- 
finiiiient  lor  five,  weekn,  and  tlien,  their  books  having  been  lnuiietl 
by  the  hangman,  were  expelled  from  the  province.  One  of  tliein, 
Maiy  Fisher,  soon  after,  set  forth  alone  to  deliver  a  me.s.siige  to  llie 
Ureal  Turk,  an  erniiid  which  she  actually  ]ierfornie(l  at  Adriiuio|ilo 
■ — ihe  sanctity  attached  lo  her  suppo.sed  insanity,  protecting  her  from 
any  wrong  or  insult.  Many  others  of  the  obno.xious  sect  were  sent 
back  to  England,  or  otherwise  banished;  and  when,  the  nc.\t  year, 
foine  of  thim  returned,  itnprisonrnent  ami  whipjiing  were  freely 
resoited  to.  Fines  were  imjujsed  upon  any  who  should  attend  tlie 
Quaker  mcctingsor  entertain  imy  of  the  Quakers;  and  lo.ssofearsaiid 
boring  the  tongue  with  a  hot  iron  were  provided  for  the  obstinate. 

As  a  natural  consequence,  a  jjcople  so  fcarle.s,'*,  and  even  so  enaai- 
oured,  as  it  were,  of  persecution,  .soon  Hocked  in  nnndjcrs  to  Miis.sii- 
ehu.setts;  and  the  geneial  court  of  that  province,  with  a  rasli  mid 
cruel  persistance  in  their  policy  of  exclusion,  enacted  thai  duath 
should  be  the  pi'nalty  of  returning  i'roiii  banishment.  This  san- 
guinary dcci'ce,  ])reci|iitated  by  the  turbulent  ai'.d  eccjntric  donicuu- 
our  of  .some  of  the  pro.scribed  zealots,  was,  in  KiijU,  carried  into 
execution  on  the  i)er.sons  (jf  Mary  Dyer,  who  had  returned,  and  of 
Steplienson  and  IJnbinson,  who  had  come,  as  voluntary  niiirtyrs,  to 
sliame,  with  their  blood,  the  cruelty  of  the  aullmritics.  At  the  phice 
of  e\ocn;i(in  the  wouiaii  wiis  I'cpiicvcd,  but  iinswcred  with  spirit, 
"Let  me  peri.sh  with  my  brelhren,  unless  you  will  annul  yiair  wicked 
hiw."  She  was  sent  out  of  the  colony,  but,  returning',  al.so  pcrisliwl 
by  the  liands  of  the  hangman.  William  JiCchlra,  who  was  oIKred 
his  III'.',  on  condition  of  jjroniising  to  keep  away,  refu.sed  the  prollcr, 
and  was  also  hanged.  At  the  very  time  of  his  trial,  Uhrisli.soii,  also 
bani.shed  on  ])ain  of  death,  boldly  returned,  and  entered  the  court; 
he  was  adjudged  to  die,  but  told  his  persecutors,  truly  enough,  tbat 
for  every  one  they  hanged,  five  more  would  come  to  glut  them  with 
bloodshed. 

Awed,  it  would  seem,  by  the  determination  of  the  sniTerers,  and 


NICW    KN(5I.AN  1). 


139 


e  smTercrs,  and 


I.l,n«  to  popular  opnnon,  winch  was  sl.ooked  «t  tl.cse  crueltioH, 
tlio  n  ...«,strato,s  In.aliy  pauml  in  thoir  san«uinarv  car.cr.     Tl.„  !,f 
of  Chnsfsou  was  Hpaml,  and  I.o,  with  rmuy  ,„hc.r«,  was  relcas..,! 
from  pr,Hon.     A  ro,aI  orcl.r,  not  long  after,  prohibit.!  the  ropoti-io. 
of  thos,M.xtro,no  „tro.,,t ...  though  the  n.inor  devices  of  porsleutio, 
were  still  freely  resorted  to.  * 

It  is  extraordinary  what  pains  have  been  taken  by  ,„nny  of  our 
u  .■■tors  .o  clear  the  skirts  of  their  ancestors  of  the  stain  attaching  to 

fonce,     thus  the  ablest  an.l  n.ost  accurate  of  American   historians 
commeneca  nn  elaborate  apology  for  these  transactions,  "that  I'uri'- 

r!".r'l    rr?-     '^'"'  ''■"""  ''"""■•'"'  l-rHocutionsof  which  the 
excesses  shall  lin.l  ,n  ,ne  no  apologi.st."     Not  to  dwell  on  the  severd 
.ncon^stcnc.cs,  and   even  ,ho  contradictions  in  tcru.s  involv,.!  in 
tins  a(I,r,nat.on,  ,t  may  be  said  confidently,  that  such  a  plea  could  bo 
a  n..s.b  e  even  on  the  odious  ground  of  necessity,  onll  where  son.e 
l>n.d      ght  of  Ihe   oppressors   was   in   danger  of   infringen.ent 
ho  gh    he  Quakers  or  son,o  of  .hem,  in<lced  -ailed  at  the  Tvorshi 
o(  .ho     untans,  and   even  denied  their  right  to  self-govcrnmen 
smcly  U  cannot  be  pretended  that  the  principle  of  frec::iom  was  in' 
any  wny  endangered    by  th..  n.ere  denunciation  of  a  f.-eble  few 
tlH"..  almost  un.versally  proscribed,  an.l  utterly  destitute  of  political 
-llnnu-e      Rut  the. argument  evidently  is,  that,  by  retiring  from 
t  e  res    of  t he  eivd.zc-l   world,  and  erecting  a  eonnnonwealth  b, 
1..  ..selves,   he  I'urHans  had  acquired  u  sjK.ics  of  claim,  if  opposed, 
o    ..'..nge  the  natural  nght  of  others;   that,  having  eitablLhed  ^ 
cr,ta.m  or.ler  of  things,  they  were  entitled  to  use,  or,  at  least   were 
excusable  in  using,  for  its  nu.intainance.  means  at  which  the  natural 
sense  .;[  right  in  man  revolls. 
It  has  been  as  seduously  attcmpfed  to  shift  the  blame  from  the 
loulders  of  the   persecutors  to  those  of  their  victims.     <'J}„t  for 
'-..     (  .0  Quakers,)  says  the  same  authority,  "the  eonntrv  Id 
ecu  guiltless  of  I  ..od!"     The  same  may  bo  said  of  the  suHer^ 
..'i  r  any  martyrdom,  nay,  under  any  e.ime  or  oppression.     H„t 
or  1  lyime  and  his  Idlow.s,  the  mutilators  of  Chail's  would  have 
.-1  a  «M,ecnre;  but  for  Servetus,  the  black  cloak  of  Geneva  mi-ht 
have  remained  uncnmsoncd  with  the  smoking  blood  of  vivo-crema- 
to        ut  for  Joan  Boucher,  the  n.emory  of  Cranmer  had  descended 
is  that  of  a  rnartyr  only,  and   not  a  relentless  uonian-burner; 
but  for  Cranmer  himself,  Rome  had  been  spared  her  archest  deed  of 


..J 


THE   PEOPLK'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 

combined  trcadiory  aiul  cruelty.  No  persecution,  of  course  can 
e.xist  without  its  legitimate  prey.  Tliat  prey  is,  almost  invariably 
a  small,  but  bravo  and  stubborn  minority,  which,  by  its  unbendin<^ 
o])position,  inflames  to  madness  the  pride,  the  solf-will,  the  passioS 
of  long-accustomed  {)ower.  But  mcthinks  it  rather  hard  that  those 
who  bravely  surronden'd  their  lives,  in  deiiance  of  a  wicked  law 
should  have  the  dishonour  of  the  trnnsaction  laid  at  their  door,  and 
be  aconscd,  at  this  day,  of  shaming  with  their  blood  the  posterity 
of  their  murderers. 

Nor  is  it  fair  to  assume  that  the  Quakers  used  any  greater  measure 
of  provocation  to  theif  oppressors  than  has  often  been  customary 
even  wilh  the  most  undeniable  martyrs.     The  spirit  of  man,  when 
soi.ght  to  be  crushed  by  superior  physical  power,  will  at  least  assert 
Itself  in  bold  and  defiant  words;  and  whatever  the  extravagances 
committed  by  some  wrong-headed  zealots  among  them,  the  der.iean- 
our  of  the  victims,  at  least  on  their  trial,  seems  to  liave  been  eliarac- 
t(-rized  by  remarkable  dignity  and  decency.      The  plain  fact-so 
"am  th:it  its  assertion  is  almost  superfluous— seems  to  be,  that  the 
eai'ly  rulers  of  Massachusetts  were  men  of  extraordinary  force  of 
character,  bigoted,  self-willed,  and  unusually  disposed  to  tyrannize. 
They  had  resolved  to  have  their  axon  tvay,  at  whatever  cost,  even 
to  the  shedding  of  blood.     The  people  against  whom  their  cruel 
and  tyrannical  laws  were  directed,  were  fGvr  in  number,  but  pos- 
sessed by  a  spirit  of  daring,  enthusiasm,  and  stubbornness,  such  a.s 
the  weld  has  seldom  witnessed.     They  resolved  that  these  sanguin- 
ary statutes,  whose  existence  proclaimed  them  felons,  by  the°very 
shame  and  horror  of  their  execution  should  be  annulled;  and  in 
laying  down  their  lives  in  accomplishment  of  this   purpose,  tliey 
certainly  earned  as, fairly  the  crown  of  martyrdom  as  any  of  tlio 
multitudes  who,  for  conscience,  for  independence,  for  flmie,  or  for  sal- 
vation, had  trodden  the  same  thorny  path  before  them. 


NEW   ENGLAND.  j^^ 


CHAPTEH   I?. 

I     'I?'''"   '^  "AS.SACilUSETTS.-lIARVARD  COLI.KOE  -RE- 
STORATION OP  CHARLES  ri.-OI.I.RES«IVE  ENACTMENTS  CON 
CERNINO   C0MMERCE.-ATT,TU1,E    OP    TilE   CoIo!; ,  ES  -i 
WINTIIROP,    THE    YOUNG  E  R,-CON  N  ECT  I  C  UT    OHTAIVS 
A    CHARTER..     HER    FREEDOM    A  N 1)    PROSPERITY.' 

cation,    rom  the  fi  st,  was  a  subject  of  solicitous  cure.     Provision 
was  :nacc  tl.at  all  children  in  Massachusetts  should  at  leas   lean,    o 

s        Lts    Jd  '  t7  '"r  f '"  '^"'  "^•'•'^^'  ^f  ^l-  l^--i^-'  '■• 

W  an  1  of  1^;;  "r''  '/^"^  ^^^'■«'  ^^^  ^'-  Request  of  his 

n  ''^^^''  ^"""^''^'^  that  ad.nirablc  uruversity 

^vh  ch  sun  con),„cn.orates  his  name,  and  which  has  exercised    uch 

xtraonhnary  influence,  fron.  the  first,  in  promoting  the     tell  ;  .co 

ronmng  the  manners  of  Now  England.     Fostered  b    t  ^'o  .e 

of  the  state,  and  at  times  assisted  by  the  neighbouring  prov  1. 

11  e  restoration  of  Charles  II.  to  the  throne  of  En-land  was  the 
«.S"a  for  a  renewal  of  those  more  obnoxious  claims  c^  s^ov^  .  tv 

s  ilciul  to  fall  ,nt.)  disuse  by  the  government  of  the  commonwealth 
l-e  .Navigation  Act  (the  child  of  that  government  indee     b      i  i 

^eu  cd  to  English  merchants,  English  ships,  and  En-dish  mu  i-,,.  " 
-  ne  entire  fl^-eign  intercourse  of  those  Fovince^  T  C' 
'   "  of  a    ong  list  of  articles,  including  tobacco,  su^ar  cot  o^       :i 

1n!;;:S,rf  ''""f'-'  --P^i-.  -  ^-glanJ;  ;:d ^  l^g 

.    .    tation  of  any   European  goods,  except  those  supplied  h^ 

gli..h  merchant.s,  was  ,n  lil<e  manner  made  illegal.     C,  nmerci- 1 

^  -.^  between  tl.  northern  and  southern  cSlonies  wa  t   ! 

•   ni     s  wl'^r"*^,''^'"'  "•'' ""'  *^^^^^^^'«'  '•-'  -'•>'  -nufacture 
I'^t^tr  r  "''^^':' -'"P<^^« -ith  that  of  the  home  country  i„ 

■^■^Wen.     huch  wa.s  the  oppressive  system,  the  commencement  of 


142 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  IIISTOKY. 


which  signalized  to  the  colonists  the  restoration  of  English  mon- 
archy, and  which,  finally  pursued  to  an  extreme  incompatible  wiih 
their  growing  strength  and  sjiirit  of  independence,  resulted  in  the 
Joss  to  P^ngland  of  the  most  splendid  provinces  ever  founded  by  the 
enterprise  of  her  sons,  or  reared  into  greatness  by  their  genius  and 
industry. 

"While  I\rassacluisctts,  both  its  political  and  moral  prepossessions 
shocked  by  the  prospect  of  the  elevation  of  a  eharacler  like  that  of 
the  new  king  to  the  sovereignty  of  England,  waited,  with  a  species 
of  sullen  expectancy,  the  event  of  the  change,  and  even  meditated 
opposition,  in  ease  a  royal  governor  should  be  sent  to  rule  over  if 
the  other  New  England  colonics,  weaker  in  numbers,  and  less  deter- 
mined in  spirit,  proclained  the  new  sovereign  with  alacrity,  and 
hastened  to  conciliate  his  favour.     Winthrop  the  younger,  a  man 
of  high  character,  and  of  most  engaging  address,  was  dispatched  to 
London  on  the  part  of  Connecticut,  to  obtain  from  the  king  a  patent 
of  that  province  for  the  liardy  adventurers  who,  as  yet,  held  it  only 
by  native  conquest  and  purchase,  and  by  the  assignment  of  the 
re{)resentativcs  of  flic  Earl  of  Warwick.      Aided  by  some  court 
influence,  this  emissary  obtained  an  audience  with  Charles,  who  was 
so  agreeably  impressed  with  his  character  and  demeanour,  that  he 
granted  an   ample  charter  to  the  petitioners.     Hartford  and  New 
IIav?ii  were  connected  in  one  colony,  and  this  vast  patent  extended 
westward   across  the  entire  continent,  including  in   its   limits  the 
already  numerous  and  prosperous  settlements  of  the  Dutch  on  the 
banks  of  the   Iliulson.     By  the  same  liberal  instrument,  complete 
indei)cndence,  excepting  the  reservation  of  allegiance  to  the  crown, 
was  secured  to  the  colonists.     All  power,  both  civil  and  ciiniiiml, 
judicial  and  executive,  elective  and  legislative,  w'as  lodged  in  their 
own  hands— a  constitution  more  completely  independent  in  elll-ct, 
could  hai'dly  have  been  framed  by  the  most  ardent  lover  of  liberlv. 
Winthrop,  after  this  suecrssful  result  of  his  mi.ssion,  returned  to  the 
province,   where,  in   gratitude  for  his  .services,  the  olllce  of  chief 
magistrate,  for  fourteen  years,  by  annual  election,  was  conferred  (m 
him.     Under  these  favourable  auspices,   the  colony  of  Conneelicut 
commenced  a  career  of  continual  increa.so,  of  rational  prosperiiv,  iind 
of  tranquil  hapjunc'^s.     The  care  for  jiopular  education,  wliii'h  hiis 
always  characterized  her  legislation,  was  manifested  at  an  early  ilay     I 
Common  schools  always  existed,  and  the  higher  wants  of  the  intcl-     i 
lect,  by  the  beginning  of  the  next  century,  were  provided  for  in  the     ' 


.,j 


NEW   ENGLAND. 


143 


foundation  of  an  instifntion   ♦!,«         ^ 

origin  contrast  stroni;  riU      ,;"""'"  ?'  I-mblenoss  of  whoso 

subsequent  cureer-the'^oTlege  of  Yafr'"'^      "'^   ^''^^^^"^^  ^^  ^'^ 

New  England,  said  Mr.  \Vebstrr    p'nn^n-     j  •     • 
institutions  which  alone  would  htvl  f  T     '"  '''  ^^^^^"^  t^^«« 
Town  Meetin,,  the  ConlZ  iltir^      !''^  *°  '""^^  ^'  ^^^^-^he 

-institntionsthich  St  f  S   ht     '"    '  "    ''"  ^'""°"  ^^^^^ 
the  independent  form  o    chu  d.  "''"'''■  "PP^'*'^^^  *«  P«^^««tion, 

shade  of  belief  in  it    orivit  S^^^''""'^^''  being  confined  to  no 

peri-y  of  conn::t;:ro  iroVi7e7\  ^^^^p— ^P- 

from  foreign  interfereice,  retained  forT      .""'"^  '"^  ^''^^d'^'" 
any  serious  disturbance.  ^  ''"'"''^'  uninterrupted  by 


CHAPTER   ?. 


THE  CHARTER  OF  RHODP  iSTAvi, 

CHARLES   II.  — APPOINTMENT    OP    A    COM 
MISSION-ALARM    OP    THE  COLONY 

RoQEK  Williams,  having  visited  Enrrlnn.^       ^    ,,    • 
sanction  of  parliament  to  th!  ex     le  of  iT  '•  r      '^'"'"'^    *^« 
founded,  in  lfio2  returned  to  Newiri     .   ,'  '"^""'  ''''^*^  ^«  ^^^^ 
John  Clarke,  a  man  of  g  ^ In"    d  f^T^^  '"  '^'^  ^o-nt, 

efr.cient  emissary  obtaillfroTt  '2:^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^'»"-« 

-.  ->d,  and  StTs^d  lu  :rL;rr  r^  r ;'  ^"^ 

concernments."      Powers  of  ««ir  Ji^^eity  of  religious 

g-'tedtoConnecti:  t  :jc^e  u'^^^^^^  f  ^"^'^  '''«  ^''-« 

8-tify  tl,e  benevolent  reces  of  he  t  V  "''  P""''"^'  ""''  *« 
l"«vi(led,  that  "no  nerson  u^" r    .        ^^^'^'""ers,  u  was  expressly 

"ft-,  shall  be  an^^'  1  ';;"  '"  ^f  r'"""^'  '^^  ""^  ^''"«  '-- 
question,  for  any'^d  en^eof  '^"""''"''  ^'■^'^""'"''  «''  ^'^^^'^  ''» 
Pe-nmayat  Jl   i      "      ,;'J7^.:;;  '"  '."actors  of  religion;  every 

Vol.  IV.-38  ^  '"'^"•^  '"'  °^"  judgment  and 


144 


THE   l'EOPLE'8   BOOK   OF   lllSTOKY, 


coiipcipticc  in  mnttors  of  religious  concernment."  Under  lliis  nnciont 
clijirtcr,  wliicli  lias  been  in  oxistoncc  to  our  own  dny,  llliodc  Tslaiid 
enjoyed  nnoonunon  juiliticid  blessings,  both  civil  and  religious.  Its 
fiist1)enent  w;is  tlie  protection  of  that  feeble  colony  against  lli(>  ;ini- 
bitions  encroachments  of  Massachusetts,  which  was  desirous  of 
extending  its  jurisdiction  over  its  weaker  neighbours,  and  which 
was  efrectuall}'  checked  by  this  direct  action  of  the  crown.  Khode 
Island,  at  the  time  of  this  foundation  of  her  ))olitical  existence,  num- 
bered only  between  two  and  three  thousand  souls. 

An  extraorditiary  mixtnrc  of  liberality  and  carelessness  charac- 
terized the  king's  whole  management  of  his  North  American  prov- 
inces. To  his  brother  Jam(>s,  and  to  several  favourites  and  courtiers 
he  gave  immense  grants  of  territory,  comprising  Tiearly  all  the  best 
part  of  the  North  American  continent — that  to  William  Penn,  laviii" 
the  foundation  of  a  commonwealth  of  peace,  being  almost  the  only 
one  whose  origin  was  of  a  jiurcr  nature  than  mere  personal  rapacity 
or  ambition. 

Until  it  was  absolutely  certain  that  the  commonwealth  was  at  an 
end,  and  that  the  House  of  Stuart  was  reinstated  on  the  throne, 
Massachu.'ctts  hesitated  to  commir  itself  to  any  decided  recognition 
of  sovereignt3^  But  when,  in  the  fall  of  1061,  the  news  of  that 
event  arrived,  the  general  court,  knowing  that  the  province  would 
be  readily  exposed  to  odium  v/ith  the  new  government,  hastened  to 
prepare  addresses  to  the  crown  and  parliament.  They  stat(>d  plainly 
the  religious  scruples  which  had  induced  the  Puritans  to  quit  their 
country,  averring  that  they  were  "true  men,  fearing  God  and  the 
King,"  and  praying  that  Charles,  himself  so  lately  in  exile,  would 
feel  a  sympathy  for  men  .sulfering  the  same  misfortune.  Tiic  agent 
of  the  province  was  instructed  to  make  what  interest  he  could  with 
the  court  and  parliament,  and,  especially,  to  resist  the  allowance  of 
appeals  from  the  colonial  government  to  that  of  England. 

Upon  this  point,  however,  the  new  government  seemed  resolved 
to  insist;  and  the  general  court,  in  view  of  a  probable  collision,  with 
much  boldness,  published  a  declaration  of  rights,  claiming  for  flic 
province  the  entire  power  of  appointing  all  its  officers,  of  exercising 
all  powers  of  government,  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial,  and  the 
right  of  resisting  any  infringement  of  its  liberties,  as  tlieretoforo 
enjoyed.  Little  more  than  a  nominal  allegiance  to  the  crown  was 
acknowledged;  and  when,  in  1661,  the  Restoration  was  publicly 
proclaimed,  it  was  done  with  much  coldness  and  ai)athy. 


_J 


ndor  lliis  anpiont 
xy,  ]?lio(le  Tslaiid 
1(1  religious.  Its 
'■  ngiiiiist  till'  ;im- 
rt'iis  (l(.\sirons  of 
ours,  and  which 
;  crown.  JDmh 
I  existence,  iium- 

elcssnpss  charac- 
Americnn  prov- 
tos  and  courtiers, 
arly  all  the  best 
iam  ]'enn,  laving 
almost  the  only 
personal  rapacity 

wealth  was  at  an 
1  on  the  throne, 
lided  recognition 
;he  news  of  that 
I  province  would 
lent,  hastened  to 
ey  stat(.'d  plainly 
tans  to  quit  their 
ng  God  and  the 
'■  in  exile,  would 
Line.  Tiie  agent 
^st  he  could  with 
the  allowance  of 
gland. 

seemed  resolved 
)le  collision,  with 
claiming  for  the 
ers,  of  exercising 
judicial,  and  the 
's,  as  theretofore 
to  the  crown  was 
on  was  publicly 
fatliy. 


NKW    KNGLAND. 


145 


Messengers  were  dispatched  to  Kfurl,u,d  to  .„=f  •     n      ■ 
of  the  province,  with  instrnetions  to  pet  lak  tiridn"    A  TT 
an;l.oparry,irpossilde,anyattempt^ipo    i^    J.f^^ 
only  1.1  a  measure  succe^sfnl      Tl.o  r\     /       "^'''^'^s-     They  were 

.....nanded,  with  som:lso:  ^S^^  ^r  Zri^^J;;^  ^'"^ 
tored  u,  Ins  name,  that  the  oath  of  alle<na„ce  ho  t'  ,  '^^'^;''^- 
theClmrch  of  England  should  be  tcden  '^  It  '  '^'' 

all  ,.xc.,.Uho  ^abliS  l-Xt; ;;;  ''•^'"*'-«™«»«Mi.  wa,  f,el,l  over 

•n  mny  against  the  crown,)  the  F„  Ih,  v  "'      '^  "''"^ 

appoint  a  c,„„,„iri„„  of  feu    perl,  f^'lT'""  '"''*"'"''"'  *" 

alfaira    0„  tl,o  news  of  iLZ^T'  '"'  '"  *"""«  ''» 

liasty  measures   were  ndontel   f"      °"'  '"°'""'"'  """"'"""  ^"'"""- 

--;u  a  .a,  ;fi:„7r;:::;,i  z;^r:;^- - 


CHAPTEa   ?I, 


%,  16M,  at  :,ir;""^r''. <'»'=:''-''  Netherlands-)  in 


146 


TUK  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTOKV. 


to  levy  a  force  in  aaaistaiice  of  the  expedition;  and,  while  the  flaet 
was  busied  at  Munhattan,  prepared  a  foreible  and  eloquent  reinon- 
Btrance,  addressed  to  the  king.  Reciting  the  privileges  of  their 
charter,  the  sacrifices  they  had  made  to  obtain  it,  and  the  libeitica 
they  had  enjoyed  under  it;  they  foretold  the  trouble  and  ruin  which 
any  persistance  in  controlling  the  affairs  of  tiie  colony  would  occa- 
sion. "God  knows,"  they  say,  "our  greatest  ambition  is  to  live  a 
quiet  life,  in  a  corner  of  the  world."  Any  thing  but  their  liberties 
they  declared,  they  were  willing  to  ofler  in  testimony  of  their  loyalty. 

Meanwhile,  the  commissioners,  not  caring  to  make  themselves  unne- 
cessarily odious,  had  busied  themselves,  in  harmony  with  the  colonists 
in  settling  certain  matters  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island — tho"du- 
tifulness  and  obedience"  of  which  former,  they  averred,  was  "set  olT 
■with  the  more  lustre  by  the  contrary  deportment  of  Massaehusetts." 
Plymouth,  which  was  promised  a  separate  charter,  if  it  would  sub- 
mit the  nomination  of  its  governor  to  the  commissioners,  protested 
much  loyalty,  but  declined  the  intermeddling  proposition. 

These  gentlemen,  returning  to  Boston,  demanded  that  all  the  men 
should  be  assembled  to  hear  the  king's  message;  but  their  requisi- 
tion was  refused,  though  they  denounced  as  traitors  tiiose  who 
opposed  the  proceeding.  The  Massachusetts  authorities  refused  to 
state  directly  whether  they  would  obey  the  commission  or  not;  and 
the  members  of  it,  to  try  their  power,  gave  notice  that  they  would 
hold  a  court  for  the  trial  of  a  cause  to  which  the  colony  was  a  party. 
But  the  general  court,  by  sound  of  trumpet,  and  proclamation  of  a 
herald,  forbade  all  persons  to  take  part  in  their  proceedings.  Foiled 
in  tliis  point,  tlio  visitors  proceeded  to  intermeddle  in  the  affairs  of 
Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  The  court,  with  equal  promptitude 
and  fearlessness,  met  them  by  an  order  to  the  inlial)itants  of  the 
latter  to  io\  \wixr  ob(>ying  or  abetting  them,  at  their  peril.  Jn  Maine, 
indeed,  t'  -y  set  up  a  royal  government;  but  not  long  after  their 
depart  ..e,  ^^assaelulselts,  by  force  of  arms,  rcSestablislied  its  authority 
there.  They  finally  returned  to  England  in  much  wrath  and  disap- 
pointment, without  having  accomplished  any  permanent  alteration  : 
in  the  condition  of  the  provinces. 

Tiie  king,  in  very  natural  displeasure,  now  summoned  (liit)(i)sonie  j 
of  the  chief  persons  of  Mnssacluisetts  to  appear  before  Imn,  and  ' 
an.«wer  for  the  doings  of  that  refractory  province.  Tiie  general  | 
court,  which  mot  to  consider  this  dennind,  after  protracted  prayer,  j 
refused  compliance,  declaring  that  they  had  already  expressed  their    I 


NKW   ENGLAND, 


147 


zrrc'irrt::^:?,;'.."-  "'"^'  p---  --^  -  oou,d  „„. 
.".1:4  *'u,n3z:::"r,r  r-" :''«""-  -^  "■= 

pro»»,„ns  n„,l  m„tcri.H  waa  rendered  toThe  1       .  """"'"*■  '" 
conlcst  will,  France,  comraenei,,,-  „?  ,h     ,  *> ','''  "'">•  "'  "'" 

far  or  negligence  iL  ZTZl^      ,         ""■"•  '""'  "''^'her  from 

n,«.urca°.o\ind;clt  hX.r  A;:rT'f^-  *°"'  ""  »"'''» 
CHiiicil,  it  WM  considered  that  lli»,vf.  ,     '''■"="™0"  ">  the 

10  meddle  with,  that ^^1.    '  „     ^        {  ""'""^  ""»  '"»  »'«"« 

alUpance;  and\l.a.  .hettV;  ic7r  L\rft  r°"  °«' '' 
sions,  and  wait  a  more  favour-  hl„  overlook  its  transgres- 

obnoxious  claims.  '^^'  opportunity  for  enforcing  the 

Meanwhile,  the  provinpf    loft  +«  •* 
enterprise  ancn„duL;r;ch:^lr';  "^^^^^ *>  by  the 
g«.shed,  prospered  in  an  extlSi  arrd^'V^"  '""  ^•^^-■ 
(for  tlie  Navigation  Act  was  set  at  n  n7.  a  ^  °'"^"  «0'"'"erce 

rapidity;  fish'and  JZ^eZZT^^^^^^ 
which,  by  the  then  recent  inve  tC Ss^lT  "'    '"'  ^""'"' 
unaccustomed  ease  from  the  ahno  tVvi     V,       .'  ''"'  ^'^'^"^''^^  ^^^^'^ 

New  Hampshire,  had  a Ireadv  „  f '""  •     "      ''''  "^  ^^""'  '"'^ 
of  traffic.  ^  '^'•''"*^^  *^'°''  importance  as  an  article 


CHAPTEH   ?II. 


CONDITION    OP    THE    NVW    VKnr.., 

CHURCH:    ins    CHAitACTER,    ETC.     lU   D    s 
CONCERTS     AN     INTRIGUE    OP     PHILIP 

^^^'^  ':2  z"^'"";'  '^""'^'  ^^  ^^«  p--^-t  en. 

the  native  tribe     .     I    !  1?'"  ""' Tt"'''  "P"'  ^^'^  ^"—  «f 

-dit.  were  Jl^^^tl!  1     ^:?  ^:^,^"^''«'^    -'--^s.  to  their 

y   -.u,n(,i,„  01  civilizuig  and  converting  their 


148 


THE    I'KOl'LK'S    BOOK    OF    HISTOKY. 


Indian  neiglibours.  I\rimy  of  tlio  latter,  by  tlie  praiseworthy  pains 
of  their  white  friends,  liad  learned  to  road  and  write,  and  one  of 
them  even  graduated  utthe  university  of  Cambridge.  The  mission- 
ary  labours  of  the  admirable  John  Eliot  and  of  the  two  Mayhews 
had  been  crowned  with  much  success  in  their  conversion.  The  for- 
mer, with  wonderful  jiatience  and  diligence,  had  even  i)ie]jare(l  and 
published,  for  their  benefit,  a  translation  of  the  Bible,  in  the  Indian 
tongue.  The  race  for  whose  salvation  this  pious  and  laborious 
)nonunient  of  learning  was  erected,  has  passed  entirely  away.  The 
Bible  may  still  be  found  on  the  shelf  of  an  ancient  library,  but  no 
man  living  is  able  to  peruse  it.  Around  Boston,  and  on  the  cape 
and  its  adjoining  islands,  villages  of  "praying  Indians"  had  been 
cstabli.shed,  and  friendship  with  the  settlers  had  been  thus  confirmed 
and  strengthened.  But  the  powerful  tribe  of  the  Narragansetts,  and 
that  of  ♦he  Pokanolceta,  at  this  time  (1675)  nearly  as  numerous,  still 
clung,  with  a  jealous  fidelit}',  to  the  religion  of  their  fiithers. 

In  1670,  the  number  of  Indians  in  New  Phigland  was  roughly 
computed  at  fifty  thousand.  Unprincipled  traders  had  suijplied 
them  with  fire-arms,  which  they  had  learned  to  use  with  deadly 
accuracy,  and  the  possession  of  which  gave  them  a  dangerous  con- 
sciousness of  power.  Confined,  in  a  good  measure,  by  the  continual 
extension  of  the  English  settlements,  to  peninsulas  and  necks  of  land 
on  the  coast,  many  of  the  tribes  began  to  sufier  from  insufficient 
room  to  procure  their  customary  subsistence. 

On  the  death  of  Massasoit,  the  earliest  and  firmest  friend  of  tlie 
English,  his  son,  Wamsutta,  or,  as  he  was  called  by  the  latter,  Alex- 
ander, succeeded  him  in  the  sway  of  the  Pokanokets.  Only  a  few 
months  after  his  accession,  on  some  vague  suspicion,  he  was  seized 
by  a  party  of  English,  and  carried  prisoner  into  Plymouth,  where, 
in  a  few  days,  he  died  of  a  fever,  brought  on  by  anger  and  irritation. 
Ilis  brother,  Metacomet,  more  cc  .imonly  known  as  the  ftmious  King 
Philip,  succeeded  to  the  throne,  and,  from  profound  polic}',  main- 
tained an  appearance  of  great  friendship  for  the  whites.  For  nine 
years,  with  extraordinary  dissiniuhition,  though  cherishing  feelings 
of  revenge  for  the  death  of  his  brother,  and  the  encroachments  on 
his  territory,  he  maintained  the  appearance  of  amity.  Some  disputes, 
indeed,  caused  by  the  latter  grievance,  as  early  as  1671,  had  occur- 
red; and  Philip,  strangely  enough,  subscribed  a  set  of  articles, 
yielding  almost  every  point  in  question,  and,  in  a  manner,  "deliver- 
ing himself,  body  and  soul,  into  the  hands  of  the  Plymouth  antbor- 


,i'i; 


in 


NEW  ENGLAND. 


149 


it.es.  II.S  motive,  doubtless,  was  to  blind  his  encuucs  as  to  tho 
cxten  and  da..gcrous  nature  of  the  eon.spiracy  he  was  meditating. 
1I.S  plan  was  notlnng  less  than  the  con.plute  externuuation  of  tiro 
wh.tes,  aud  u.  Us  prosecution  he  displayed  a  policy,  courage,  and 
pcKsoveranee,  winch  ,n  a  savage,  have  never  been  surpass.3.  To 
mt  the  clans  of  New  England,  inuuen.orially  di.ssevercd  by  tra- 
d.t,onal  feud  and  en,n.ty  into  ,  confederacy  against  a  foe  so  terrible 
as  the  Lnghsh,  might  well  have  seemed  to  the  most  sanguine  a  hope- 
less  task ;  yet  sucli  was  the  object  to  which  Philip  bent  all  his  pol  cy 
and  energy,  and  in  which,  to  a  great  ex^nt,  he  succee.led."  ArZ 
meat,  persuasion,  and  menace,  were  each,  in  turn,  applied  with  The 
utiiiost  adroitness.  ^ 

111  the  sprmg  of  1675,  he  sent  six  an.bassadors  to  Awasho.iks, 
queen  of  the  Sogkonates,  demanding,  on  pain  of  his  own  vengeance 
and  of  exposure  (by  an  artful  device)  to  the  resentment  of  the  Kn-' 
ish  themselves,_that  the  tribe  should  join  his  league.     A  solenm 
anec  was  appointed  to  decide  the  question,  and  Awashonks,  that 
the  oi>iH,s,te  luxrty  might  not  be  unrepresented,  sent  for  her  nehdi- 
bour,  Captam  Benjamin  Church,  the  only  white  man  in  her  domains. 
This  eelebrated  man,  one  of  the  most  famous  Indian  fighters  in  New 
England  history,  had  just  settled  in  the  wilderness  of  Sogkonatc. 
lie  was  a  man  of  undaunted  courage,  of  a  sagacity  fitted  to  eope 
with  the  wihest  tactics  of  Indian  warfare,  and,  withal,  of  a  kindly 
and  generous  disposition,  which,  except  when  engaged  in  innnediatc 
lo^ilities  seem  to  have  secured  for  him  the  respect  and  attachment 
of  the  wild  tribes  wluch  he  so  often  encountered.     Ilis  narrative* 
written  in  his  old  age  by  his  son,  from  his  own  notes  and  dictation 
1  one  of  the  choicest  fragments  of  original  history  in  our  possession 
As  a  hterary  performance,  it  is  just  respectable;  but  for  vividness 
of  detail  and  strength  of  expression,  it  is  soniothing  ,nor,-   and  m.v 
wol   ho  entitled  to  rank  with  such   rude  but  stirring  prod'uetions  als 
the  qrue  Conquest'  of  Bernal  Diaz,  and  the  'TrueA.lventures'  of 
taptain  .Tolin  Smith." 

On  his  arrival,  a  grand  council  was  held,  at  which  the  six  Wam- 
panongs  appeared  in  great  state,  making,  savs  (^hurch,  "a  formidable 
appeamnce,  with  their  fa<.es  painted,  and  their  hair  trimmed  back  in 
cond,  fashion,  with  their  powdord.orns  and  shot-l,aos  at  th.ir  backs 

fo  wV'-"7r'^"'  i"''"'"."  ''"'  1""^'""  "'^^  '^•^"'•«  «^  proparedue;; 
tor  ^var.      A  fierce  discussion  (uisued,  and  a  privy  counsellor,  named 

*  "The  Eiituitiiiiing  Ilistoiy  of  King  I'liilip's  Wiir." 


150 


TIIK    I'KOIM.K'H   BOOK   OK   IIISTOUY 


Littlo  EyoH,  attempted  to  dniw  Cliurch  nsido,  to  privately  dispntch 
liim,  but  was  provented  by  otiieiu  The  Kiigli.slimaii,  with  grout 
boldness,  advised  A  wasluiidcs,  "to  knoek  tlioso  six  Mount  Hopes* 
on  tlio  head,  and  ulielter  herself  under  the  protection  of  the  KiigliHh. 
llpon  which,  the  Mount  Hopes  were  for  the  preHcnt  dund)."  Ho 
tlieii  sharply  rebuked  them,  n?  faithless  wretches,  thirstinjr  for  tho 
blood  of  their  neighbours,  and  assured  them,  that  if  lli(>y  would  liavo 
war,  he  should  j)roV(>  a  sharp  thorn  in  their  sides.  The  (pieen  and 
her  peoj)le,  overmastered  by  hisclo(picncc  and  energy,  dismisHcd  tho 
embassy,  and,  for  a  time,  observed  nontrulity,  if  not  lidelity. 


CHAPTER   YIII. 


COMMKNCEMENT  OF    PHILIP'S   WAR.  —  EXPLOIT  OF  CIinilCH 

UKTllEAT  OF  THE  INDIANS.  —  PHILIP  ROUSES  THE  TitlllEa 

—  DESTRUCTION    OF    TOWNS,    ETC.  —  THE    ATTACK    ON 

HADLEY:     REPULSED    II Y    OOFFE. — OREAT    LOSSES 

OF     THE     ENOLISJI. — SPRINGFIELD     liURNED. 


It  was  soon  evident  thjit  Philip  was  j)reparing  for  active  war.    IIo 
Bcnt  all  the  women  and  children  of  his  tribe  into  the  NMrnigiuisott 
country,  and  held  a  great  dance,  lasting  for  several  weeks,  widi  nil 
the  warriors  of  his  neighbourhood.     Tho  first  blow  was  struck  on 
the  24th  of  June,  in  an  attack  on  the  little  town  of  Swansey.     Nino 
of  the  settlers  were  killed,  ami  the  rest  (led,  while  the  Indians  fued 
their  deserted  dwellings.     Soldiers  w(>re  sent  from   Ma.ssachns('tt>i, 
and  Church,  with  a  company  from  Plymouth,  hastened  to  the  fron- 
tier.    Philip  was  comjielled  to  (lee,  but  only  to  ravage  the  countrv 
in  other  remote  spots.     Church,  with  only  nineteen  men,  holding  on 
in  pursuit,  at  last,  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Tiverton," fell 
in  with  three    hundred   of  the   enemy.     "'I'he   hill,"  he   tells'  ns, 
"seemed  to  move,   being  covered  over  with    Tndian.s,   with  their 
bright  guns  glittering  in  the  sun,  and  running  in  a  circumferenco 
with  a  design  to  surround  them."     From  a  place  of  vantage,  flio 
PJngli.sh  defi-nded  themselves  with  much  courage  and  desporntion, 
till  taken  olV  by  a  vessel  which  came  to  their  aid,  covering  their 
♦  So  oiilied,  from  Mowd  IIoih',  tlu^  fiivniirito  si-jif  of  Philip. 


ivnU'ly  (lispntch 
111111,  witli  great 
Mount  II()|)08* 
ol'tlui  Kiigliah. 
lit  tluinb."  IIo 
liiiHting  for  tho 
licy  would  liiivo 
Tlu!  (luccii  and 
y,  (listuisscd  tho 
lidolily. 


OF  CIIURCIl  — 

tiik  tuuies. 
tt.\(;k  on 

LOSSES 
UN  ED. 

ictivu  war.  IIo 
ic  Narrngimsctt 
weeks,  wiih  nil 
was  striielv  on 
Wiuisoy.  Nino 
o  Indians  fired 
Massaelmsctls, 
?d  to  tlie  fion- 
jfo  tlio  eoinitrv 
icn  lioldin^r  on 
r  'I'iverloii,  li'll 
"  lie  tells  MS, 
lis,  with  their 
circumfereneo 
f  vantage,  the 
d  desperation, 
eovcriiig  their 

'liilip. 


jr/jvo   puiLip. 


THE     S  E  r  JL  J.  tt  A     u  h     .V  I.  ,y     i..V<ll..l 


■V  1)    It  o  I  A'  u    JUL  n  V  j:  l  n, 


IS    THE    TJ.11E   tiK    THE    IXDIA.N    \VAi;S 


NEW  ENGLAND. 


151 


L. 


embarkation  with  her  firp      WJior.  nii  , 

then,  off,  a,„id  a  slower  oft'llets'so^JtS,;*'  "',        ""="" 
The  E„gli,l,  force,,  „,  ,,,,  „„).  ™  «  -      l"»  peraon. 

™nH  co,„pe„ed  P,.i,ip  „„a  ,,3  wtno.  t™\  'trrrfrf: 
..•amp  at  Pocassel;  their  camp,  oonsistin..  of  a  h„„d™l  1  " 
...ns,  being  deserted.  A  g  Jt  „™ber  .Tft  i  "tl  W  I* 
rc,„lcrcd  u„de,.  f.,r  pron,i,e»,  were  treacherously  tra  ,  ed  '  " 
.l»vcs-a  piece  of  perfidious  cruelty  against  wl.i,'^,  ™"  '','"'■''.  ,»" 
rciiioiistrated.  That  active  officer,  if  peSd  t  1  ■  i  7:;™: 
probably,  bj  a  e  ose  pursuit  of  the  Indiaus,  have  ended  tie  war  buj 
he  .yas  c„„  mually  thwarted  and  embarrassed  bv  the  nlctiv  tv  a„d 
obstinacy  of  his  superiors.  mactnitj  and 

Defeated,  with  a  loss  of  thirty  warriorq  in  nn^tv. 
151  •!•     n  J  ,  "liiii-j  wd/nors,  in  another  eno-nrrpmonf 

rlulip  fled  westward    and  (^vni^^A   *i.  enj^agement, 

tl'^'t  time,  filled  New  En^Lnd  wf.I  in  r       i         '"''''''"'  ^'"■^'^'  '' 
atb<:l:,  ridinrr  on%  hLu-V  V        V  '  '"  ^^^^  ^^  '"^  successful 

to  be  brou..ht  forth    fl,n^  t  "^  ^'"''"'''''^  '^"  arrn-ebair 

tio„  of  a  vdlale  ^    '■  '''''  '"  "'^^'^  ^"J«3^  ^^  1"«  «-«  the  cunilagra- 

nridtlSn^^^  --'^  -  -'^e  on 

The  neonloof  f  I ,  li  r     ,'  ''^"''''  '^""  '""■'^^'^  destroyed. 

j'l^  [ito  )ic  ot  Had  ev  assembled  it-  tlir>;  -         t-      i  ■ 

"■-'i.il'  but  f.l-on  l,v    ;  ,    '^"^  ^^'«'-   '"eetmg-liouse,  armed  as 

^voul.i      Ob  n     r       T"''  "'  '^"'  nnexpected  assault  of  the  savages 

-"I'l  probably  have  been  overwheln>ed,  but  for  an   unexp^S 


152 


TllK   r.KUVLK',S   JiOOK   OF   lllSToUV. 


ussistiuuv.     An  oltl  innii,  witli  loiij.'  wliifo  luiir,  (livsscd  in  tin,  fi.Kh. 
ioM  of  ii  former  day,  suddciilj  iippoarod,  {iii.l  iissuincd  the  cointnuiid. 
]?y  liis courage  and  skillfid  stratrgy,  lio  put,  tlu;  (mumuj  to  flight,  and 
tiu'ii  disaiipearrd  as  .suddcnl,y  and  m^ystrriousl)-  as  lie  cauic.     Many 
of  tho  pooplci  supposed  liini  to  be  an  angel,  pRwidentiaily  sent  to 
their  aid;   lint  lie  was,  in  reality,  Major-Gcncral  (ioll'e,  one  of  tlio 
rcgieidc'  judges,  who,  with  liis  companion,  Whalley,  liad  been  con- 
oealcd  for  ten  years  in  the  colhirof  Mr.  Knsscll,  minister  of  the  town, 
'''i'here  are  lew  incidents  in  liistory  more  striidng  than  tiuit  of  tlio 
old  soldier,  so  long  immured  in  this  dismal  habitation,  roused  onco 
more  l)y  the  clash  of  arms  and  the  discharge  of  musketry,  to  mingle, 
for  the  last  time,  in  the  half-forgotten  scenes  of  combat,  and  thou 
shrinking  back  forever  into  the  gloom  and  twilight  of  his  subter- 
ranean abode." 

Thirty-si.x   men,  di.sjwtclnid  to  the  relief  of  Northfield,  (where  a 
number  ol'  the  people  had  been  .slain,)  were  nuistly  cut  ofl'by  an  am- 
bu.^^eade,  and  a  hundred  more,  coiisi.sling  of  iho  finest  young  men 
in  the  country,  marching  to  Deertield,  under  Ca])tain  LaUirop,  .sur- 
rounded by  an  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy,  after  a  desperiite 
defence,  were  all  killed,  except  seven  or  eight.     Thirty  houses  were 
burned  at  Springiicld,  together  with  "the  brr've  library"  of  Kev. 
]'elatiah  Glover,  which  luul  once  been  carried  to  a  place  of  safety— 
"but  the  said  minister,  a  great  .student,  and  an  hailno  Ubronun,  beiii"' 
impatient  for  want  of  his  book.s,  brought  them  back,  to  his  great 
sorrow,  for  a  bonfire  for  the  proud  insulting  enemy.     Of  all  the  mis- 
chiefs," continues  Jlev.  ^Ir.  Hubbard,  ("Indian  War-s,")  "done  by 
the  .said  enemy  before  that  day,  the  burning  of  this  said  town  of 
Springiicld  did  more  than  any  other  discover  the  said  actors  to  bo     ' 
the  children  of  the  devil,  full  of  all  subtlety  and  malice,"  &c.,  &;c.    Tlie    i 
.sympathy  of  the  learned  and  studious  nniy  well  travel  back  a  coiinlo 
of  centuries,  to  condole  with  the  unfortunate  scholar,  widowed  of  his 
library — his  loss  irreparable — bookless — iu  the  Aniericau  wilderness. 


NKW    KNGLAN  I).  -^ 


CHAPTEH   II. 

Nlir,II"S    WAIl,     CONTINUED.  — DKHTIUICTION     OF     TlfK     NAIl 
UAIJANSKTT      FOllT:      T  KRH  1 1. 1,  K      M  A  SS  A  C  R  E,  ~  M  A  L  I  0  N  A  N  T 
liXin.TATION    OF   Tin.;   KAULY    H  I  8T0  R  I A  NH.  — I  Nl,i  a  N    SUC- 
CESS ii,S.—(;  a  I'TU  R  K   AND   DJUTH    OF    CANONCHKT.    Ills 
JlilROISM  ANU  MAOKANIMITY.— Dll-LOMACy  01'  CHURCH. 

At  Hatfield,  in  Ctobor,  tlic  garriso.i  ar>d  town's  pccplc  beat  o/F 
a  body  or  sovoM  or  eight  hundred  savages  who  attacked  the  pluec- 
and  during  tlie  beginning  of  the  ensui.ig  winter,  little  was  done  bJ 
either  party   the  Indians  sullbring  greatly  from  want  and  exposu.e 
1  luhp  and  his  warriors,  it  was  supposed,  liad  taken  refuge  witli  the 
Nurragansetts.     The  English  now  resolved  to  crush  this  latter  tribe 
as  the  most  easily  accessible,  on  account  of  the  shelter  they  had 
allurded  to  the  euc.ny.     Five  hundred  soldiers,  under  command  of 
Jusias  Wmslow,  governor  of  I'lymouth,  were  dispatched  against  the 
devoted  tribe,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  December  19th,  a  bitter  win- 
ter's day,  after  a  forced  inarch,  arrived  at  their  principal  fort      Jt 
was  built  on  a  plateau  of  elevated  ground  in  a  great  swamp,' and 
the  only  access  to  it  was  by  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree,  lying  in  the 
water.     Across  this  bridge  of  peril,  the  assailant,  with  much  loss 
made  their  way,  and  after  a  desperate  battle  within,  lasting  for  some 
lours,  liriug  the  fort,  renewed  the  terrible  tragedy  of  (Jroton.    Seven 
hundred  of  the  Narragansett  warriors  are  said  to  have  fallen  in  the 
fight,  and  nearly  half  that  number  afterwards  perished  of  their 
wouiuk      'ihe  number  of  old  men,  women,  and  children,"  savs 
lev.  Mr.     lubbard.      that  perished  either  by  fire,   or  that  were 
starved  with  cold  and  hunger,  none  could  tell."    "They  were  ividv  " 
he  narrates  in  a  strain  of  disgusting  levity,  "to  dress  their  din nVr 
but  our  sudden  and  unexpected  assault  put  them  beside  that  work-' 
making  their  cook-rooms  too  hot  ibr  thein  at  that  time  when  thev 
and  their  mitehen  fried  together:  And  probably  s.^me  of  them  eat 
then  suppers  in  a  colder  place  that  night,  most  of  their  provisions 
as  well  as  huts  being  consumed  by  fire,  and  those  that  were  left 
ahve  forced  to  hide  themselves  in  a  cedar  swamp,  not  fi.r  off,  where 
they  had  nothing  to  defend  them  from  the  cold  but  boughs  of  spruce 
and  nine  trecis!" 


154 


THP:   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


The  defeated  nation  did  not  fall  unavenged,  eighty  of  the  English 
being  slain  outright,  uiid  an  hundred  and  fifty  wounded,  many  of 
whom  jjorislicd  on  the  return  inareh,  rendered  terrible  by  the  .sever- 
ity of  the  season,  and  the  want  of  [)roper  8up[)liea.  Canonchet,  (the 
son  of  Miantoniino,)  the  brave  young  saehem  of  the  Narragansetts 
with  the  relies  of  his  foree,  took  refuge  in  the  west,  where,  in  con- 
eert  with  Philip,  he  planned  schemes  of  vengeful  reprisal.  Lan- 
caster and  Medlield  (the  latter  only  twenty  miles  from  Boston)  were 
burned,  and  nearly  a  hundred  of  the  settlers  were  killed  or  Ciirriod 
off.  Portions  of  Providence  and  Wey  month  were  also  destroyed 
and  two  companies,  each  of  fifty  men,  were  successively  "swallowed 
up"  by  the  victorious  enemy. 

The  first  cheek  to  this  spirited  renewal  of  the  war,  was  the  cap- 
ture of  the  brave  Canonchet,  who,  having  raised  a  force  of  many 
hundred  men,  to  ensure  provision  for  their  support,  had  ventured 
eastward  with  a  few  warriors,  to  procure  seed  for  plantation.  He 
was  shot  at  Stonington,  having  "refused  to  purchase  his  life  by  pro- 
curing the  submission  of  his  injured  tribe;  and  met  his  death  with 
the  highest  courage  and  fortitude — a  true  patriot,  and  a  hero,  whose 
soul,  to  judge  from  his  brief  sayings,  was  cast  in  an  almost  class- 
ical mould." 

"This,"  says  Mr.  Hubbard,  "was  the  confusion"  (confounding) 
"of  a  damned  wretch,  that  had  oflen  opened  his  mouth  to  hlas- 
pheme  the  name  of  the  living  God,  and  those  that  make  profession 
tliereof.  He  was  told  at  large  of  his  breach  of  faith,  and  how  he 
had  boasted  tlutt  he  would  not  deliver  up  a  Wampanoaij  nor  (lie  paring 
of  a  Wainpanoaj^s  nail,  that  he  would  burn  the  English  alive  in 
their  houses;  to  which  he  replied,  others  tvere  as  forivard  for  the  war 
(IS  /limse/f,  and  he  desired  to  hear  no  more  thereof.  And  when  he  wns 
told  his  sentence  was  to  die,  he  said,  he  liked  it  well,  that  he  slumld 
die  he/ore  his  heart  was  soft,  or  he  had  spoken  anything/  unwortlnj  of  him- 
self. He  told  the  English  before  they  put  him  to  death,  that  the 
littitHj  him  would  not  end  the  ivar;  but  it  was  a  considerable  step 
thereunto." 

In  the  spring  of  1676,  the  war  continued  to  rage,  several  desperate 
actions  being  fought,  with  alternate  success — part  of  Plymouth  and 
other  tt)wns  beirg  burned,  and  great  loss  resulting  to  both  parties. 
The  Indians,  ii..ieed,  suffered  grievously  from  cold  and  hunger;  and 
a  force  of  cavalry,  from  Connecticut,  aided  by  a  body  of  Mohegans, 
wns  very  effectually  employed  against  thein.     Two  hundred  were 


J 


NEW  ENGLAND. 


155 


nmdc  prisoners  on  or.e  occasion;  five  or  six  hundred  surrendered  on 
a  doubtful  pronuse  of  .norcy;  and  many  n.igrated  to  the  west. 
Pluhp  and  h.s  people  still  held  out,  and  kept  the  settlements  in 
conunual  dread  of  attack.  His  final  defeat  and  destruction  was  due 
t(,  tho  energy  of  Captain  (afterwards  colonel)  Church,  who  had  per- 
formed act,  ve  service  during  the  war,  and  wi)o,  immediately  on 
rocovenng  from  his  wounds,  devoted  himself  to  the  task  of  bririmna 
it  to  an  end.  °    ° 

The  Sogkonates,  at  this  time,  were  in  alliance  with  Philip  and 
to  detach  them  from  the  hostile  league,  with  only  a  single  .ou.Lum 
the  cnptam  boldly  ventured  into  their  country.  He  narrowly 
escaped  with  h.s  life  fro.n  the  vengeance  of  some  of  the-  but  by 
ks  persuasions  and  argnments,  at  last  so  con.plettly  won  the  confi- 
dence of  the  tribe  that  the  chief  warrior  rose,  r.ud  placed  himself 
and  all  the  rest  at  Ins  disposal,  .saying,  -  We  will  nelp  you  to  Philip's 
head,  ere  the  Indian  corn  be  ripe."  With  an  extraonlir.ary  savage 
pantomime,  the  clan  performed  the  ceremony  of  swearin.^  allegiance 
to  their  new  commander,  and  the  desertion  of  these  allies,  w^e  are 
told,  broke  Philip's  heart  as  soon  as  he  understood  it,  so  as  he 
never  rejoiced  after,  or  had  success  in  any  of  his  designs." 


CHAPTEH   I. 


PHIMP'S     WAR,     CONTINUKD— suCCKSSFrr,     CAMPAIGN     OF 

CHUItCH.  — DKPKAT   AM)    CAPTUltK    OK    TM  K    SAVAGES^ 

l'H!I,IP'8])KSPAIIt.    HK    UKTKHATS   TO   MOU.NT   HOPK:    18 

IIKFEATKI)     AND     !Sr,Al\:      It  A  II  ])  .\  |!  o  U  S     KXPOSUKE 

OF     HIS     REMAINS:     HIS     CHAIlACTiiK. 

With  an  English  force,  and  a  considerable  number  of  Jnrlian  war- 
rior., Cl.urch,  ,n  June,  1(576,  commenced  an  active  campai-n  a.^■^inst 
tl.o  enemy,  .scouring  the  woods  in  all  directions,  and  killinc  or 
iMMking  prisoners  of  great  numbers  of  the  hostile  .sava-re.  "1,^1,0 
jnidst  of  thus  uncompromising  warfare,  we  find  him  exhibitin.r  a 
iHimanily  and  good  fiiith  uncommon  at  the  time,  usin-r  every  exer- 
tion to  prevent  torture  and  cruelty,  and  vehemently  prJtesiin.. 
against  any  ill  u.sage  of  the  natives  who  surrendered.     Once  he  fell 


156 


THE   PEOI'LE'S   BOOK   OF   IIISTOKY. 


ill  with  Little  E3'es,  (wlio  would  have  killed  him  at  Awashonk'g 
diiiice,)  and  his  Iiidiairs  wished  him  to  be  revenged.  'But  the  Cai)- 
tain  told  them  it  was  not  Englishiueii's  fjishion  to  seek  revenge, 'nnd 
took  especial  care  fur  his  salety  and  protection."  The  linest  of  big 
captives  he  selected  for  his  own  service,  and,  .'lingular  to  state,  such 
was  the  fascination  of  his  manner,  and  his  acquaintance  with  the 
Indian  character,  that  he  generall}'  converted  these  recruits  into 
devoted  followers. 

Pursuing  the  enemy  into  the  Narragansett's  country,  "he  came 
to  Taunton  river,  over  which  the  Indians  had  felled  a  large  tree  for 
the  purpose  of  crossing.  On  the  stump,  at  the  op})osite  side,  sat  a 
solitary  warrior.  Church  quietly  raised  his  gun,  but  was  prevented 
from  firing  by  the  suggestion  that  it  was  a  friend.  The  Imlinn 
Aroused  by  the  noise,  looked  up.  It  was  Philip  himself,  inusitiff 
drearily,  no  doubt,  on  the  fallen  fortunes  of  his  race.  Ere  a  gun 
could  again  be  levelled,  he  sprang  up,  and  bounded  like  a  deer  into 
the  .forest."  Closely  following  his  track,  the  English  at  last  came 
up  with  the  relics  of  tne  enemy,  who  were  posted  in  a  swamp.  The 
latter,  after  a  sharp  skirmish,  were  defeated,  and  an  hundred  and 
seventy-three,  including  women  and  children,  were  taken  captive. 
Philip  and  most  of  his  warriors  escaped,  but  his  wife  and  chiklwcre 
among  the  prisoners.  The  latter  described  his  condition  as  forlorn 
in  the  extreme,  and  said,  that  after  this  last  misfortune,  he  was 
quite  inconsolable. 

"The  unhappy  sachem,  after  seeing  his  followers,  one  after  an- 
other, fall  before  the  English,  or  desert  his  failing  cause,  had  betaken 
himself,  like  some  wild  animal  hard  driven  by  the  hunters,  to  his 
ancient  haunt,  the  former  residence  of  his  father,  the  friendly  Mas- 
snsoit.  In  all  the  pleasant  region  washed  by  the  circling  Narragan- 
sett,  there  is  no  spot  more  beautiful  than  that  miniature  mountain, 
the  home  of  the  old  sachems  of  the  Wampanoags.  But  with  what 
feelings  the  last  of  their  number,  a  fugitive  before  inveternte  foes 
and  recreant  followers,  looked  on  the  pleasant  habitation  of  his 
fathers,  may  more  easily  be  imagined  than  described.  Still,  lie 
sternly  rejected  all  proposals  for  peace,  and  even  slew  one  of  lii.s 
own  followers,  who  had  ventured  to  speak  of  treaty  with  the  Pjig- 
lish.  The  brother  of  this  victim,  naturally  enraged  and  alienated 
from  his  cause,  at  once  deserted  to  the  enemy,  and  gave  the  informa- 
tion which  led  to  his  final  ruin. 

"A  few  brave  warriors  yet  remained  faitidul  to  him,  and  with     | 

j 


wMm 


NEW   KNQLAND. 


157 


iature  mountain, 


l>cse  and  then-  women  and  obildren,  he  had  taken  refuge  in  a  swamp 
liard  by  the  n.ounta.n.  on  a  little  spot  of  rising  ground  I  tZ 
troubled  n,ght,  the  last  of  his  life,  the  saehen'  te  a  toll  d 
aa.uncd  of  h:s  betrayal,*  and  awaking  early,  ;««  recounting  e 
v.--'n  oU„  eompamons,  when  the  foe  came  suddenly  upon  b  n 
n.s  old  enemy  Cbureb,  who  was  familiar  with  the  gro^n,  eon  i  ' 
up  qu,etly  m  the  darkness  of  night,  had  posted  lu^m^l^Z^ 

":      '  r  '"'T'  "•  "'  "■^""'''^'  ^^  ^■•--'*  ^">'^-'"  -.  ping 

,    f  ■  Tp/'i""''  ""'"'^"^^^-     ^^'''  «^^--l  volleys  bad  be.^ 

raindly  flred,  Phd.p,  attempting  to  gain  a  secure  posit  on,  ca.ne 

range  of  an  ambush,  and  was  instantly  shot  through  the  heart  W 

one  Alderman,  an  Indian  under  Church's  comn.and      He  fell  on  his 

r  WH  v'r  T  ""^r  u '"'  '"^  ^'"'  ^^'*'"^"^ ''  ^'^-SSl^-     (August 
12.  Ib7b )  t     Most  of  the  warriors,  under  old  An.rawon,  Pb.bps 

chief  eaptam,  made  their  escape.  ^ 

The  body  of  the  unfortunate  sachem  was  drawn  from  the  swamp 
spectacle  of  exultatum  for  "the  army;"  and  Church,  following  tlfe 
barbarous  fashion  ol  the  ti.ne,  declared  "that,  forasmuch  as  he  bad 
caused  many  an  Englishman's  body  to  be  unburied  and  to  rot  above 
grouml   no  one  of  h,s  bones  should  be  buried."     "This  Aga,  "  says 
Cotton  Mat  er,  spitefully  enough,  "  was  now  cut  into  quarte'^  'wl     1 
were  then  hanged  up.  while  his  head  was  earned  In  triu.nph  to 
Plymoutl,,  where  ,t  arrived  on  the  very  day  that  the  church  there 
was  keeping  a  solemn  tf>anks;;iving  to  God.     God  .sent  'em  the  head 
0  a  leviathan  for  a  thanksgiving  feast."    The  festivity  of  the  modern 
observance  o   the  same  name,  it  is  certain,  could  hardly  be  enhanced 
by  the  arrival  of  a  human  head,  even  though  it  were  that  of  a  brave 
and  inveterate  foe. 

"The  ghastly  relic  was  long  exposed  in  that  town,  an  object  of 
mingled  horror  and  satisfaction  to  the  eitizons;  an<l  when  the  llesh 
was  la  len  away,  and  the  dry  jaw  could  be  rattled  with  the  .skull  a 
grave  historian  records  with  s^itisfaction  his  odious  trifling  with  t'he 
reinauis  which  ,n  their  life-time,  he  would  not  have  dared  to  ap- 
pn^ch  for  all  below  the  moon.'  The  only  reward  allotted  to  the 
Victors  was  a  bounty  of  thirty  .shillings  on  the  head  of  every  slain 
Indian;  and  Church,  with  some  reason,  complains  that  Phdip's  was 

t       m'    ^r'"''"';  "'^^  ''"-'  "PP--'  *"  hi-  in  a  '»-am  that  ni.ht,  «.  ke  did 
mloSnul (, )  lorebodnig  h,s  Un.\,:d  end,  it  nrntUTS  ,.ot,")  &c.,  &c. 

t  IJiseovcr.T.s,  &c.,  (irAmcrk'ii.  ! 


158 


TIIK  I'Kul'LK'iS   BOOK   OK   JIISTOKY. 


rated  no  Inglier  than  the  rest.  The  sinewy  right  hand  of  the  sacliem, 
much  scarred  by  the  bursting  of  a  pistol,  was  given  to  Alderman  'to 
show  to  such  gentlemen  as  would  bestow  gratuities  upon  him;  and 
accordingly  he  got  many  a  penny  by  it.'* 

"Thus  died  Philip  of  Pokanoket,  the  last  sachem  of  the  Warnpa- 
noags,  the  originator  and  the  head  of  that  terrible  confederacy  which 
BO  long  kept  New  England  in  dread  and  consternation,  and  wliicli 
at  one  time,  seemed  almost  to  threaten  its  entire  destruction.  He 
was,  undoubtedly,  a  man  far  superior  to  the  generality  of  his  race  in 
boldness,  sagacity,  and  policy;  his  powers  of  persuasion  were  e.xtra- 
ordinary;  and  the  terrifying  results  of  his  enmity  sufilciently  evinced 
the  ambitious  nature  of  his  scheme,  and  the  genius  with  wliicli  it 
was  conducted.  The  division  and  barbarous  exposure  of  his  remains 
entailed  disgrace,  not  on  him,  but  on  the  authors  of  the  profanation- 
his  sufferings  and  the  injuries  of  his  family  have  awakened  in  suc- 
ceeding generations  somewhat  of  that  sympathy  which  is  always  due 
to  misfortune;  and  though  the  defeated  leader  of  a  ruined  confed- 
eration, his  name,  more  than  that  of  any  other  of  the  Indian  race 
has  always  excited  the  interest,  if  not  the  admiration  of  mankind."f 


Uiiiiilirijaii    lAii, 

PHILIP'S    WAR,    CONCLUDED. — CAPTURE    OP    ANNAWON    AND 

HIS    WARRIORS,     BY    CHURCH. ROMA.NTIC     INCIDENTS.— 

SUilMAIiY     OP    THE    WAR.  —  PHILIP'S    SO  N.- -B  A  R  I)  A  ROUS 

POLICY     OF     THE     VICTORS.  —  MURDEROUS     ADVICE.— 

THE  CHARACTER  OF   THE   PURITANS.  —  REFLECTIONS. 


CllURcn,  with  a  small  force,  followed  closely  on  the  trnck  of 
Annawon  and  the  few  warriors  whom  death  and  desertion  had  yet 
left  1o  maintain  the  ruined  cau.se  of  the  Pokanokets;  and,  after  long 
and  wearisome  inuvsuit,  at  length  learned  from  a  captive  the  place  of 
his  retreat.  In  his  eagerness  to  surpri.se  the  foe  (wlio  never  camped 
two  nights  in  the  same  place),  with  only  half  a  dozen  friendly  In- 
dians, he  set  forth,  with  extraordinary  boldness,  on  the  adventure. 

•*  "Chuicli's  "Entertaining  History."  \ Dibcovcrera,  &c.,  of  Aini'iicii. 


KY. 


ind  of  the  sacliern, 
1  to  Alderman,  'to 
;s  upon  him;  and 

m  of  the  Warnpa- 
Jonfederaoy  wiiich 
lalion,  and  wliich, 

destruction.  He 
ility  of  his  race,  in 
insion  were  extra- 
afiiciently  evinced 
ius  with  whicli  it 
ure  of  his  remains 
f  the  profanation ; 
ivvakened  in  sue- 
lich  is  always  duo 
■  a  ruined  con  fed- 

the  Indian  race, 
on  of  mankind."! 


ANNAWON    AND  , 

INCIDENTS.—  ! 

-BARBAROUS  I 

ADVICE.—  I 
FLECTIONS. 


on  the  track  of 
esertion  had  yet 
1 ;  and,  after  long 
)tive  the  place  of 
lio  never  camped 
)zen  friendly  hi- 
1  the  adventure. 


'I  I'  r.i  I  .V   i:  i: 


T  II   F       IN  11 


.'  /  .1/ 1  .y    (  II 


I  i;  I  II, 


I  A   N       V  I  (,  II 


l:0U\     ]i; 


<i\"i:nrAMi;    \n:'i' 


mi'\ii;t    (KiMi 
lAM  AKV 


I'llll.M'),     .AK.I.ST     !•.'.     |l,-(i; 


\nv.\) 


171^ 


&c.,  of  Aini'i'iea, 


^'KW    ICNOLAND. 


159 


The  bivouac  of  tl.e  fn-ritivos  wns  in  .,  r  i 

and  (lifTicuIty  of  access    vJt  Z        ',  •""  "^  ''""^'^o^^^^  security 

themselves  ^  husl.^: tW'r  ll,     ..;;i;  • '"'  ^^'^.''  '"■«  •"'"-.  '"-ri„^ 

en.n,y  mostly  «,.eping,  hy  su,,;!.:,!;;  i::;;;'.:;;^  ^-'^.  ^-v'" 

were  all  stacked  tog<  tl,er  at  tl,c  I.ead  of  A  ^D  "  '"i" 

warrior,  his  wcajMnis  l„st    mrrorulnr.  ,l  "7         "'•'i' »-'''l')ubtod 

exainplo,  Church  proinisiK,'''  ""r'  '"  "^^  '""•*^«''  '- 
lives,  "f  am  como  to  «„;  w  th  vou ''  l'  J"'';"  '"  '•^■'"■''^"^"'-> 
won,  and  the  latter  hid.lii.l  11"-  '  ^        ""^^'  ''  ^""•^- 

tuins  feasted  togetlier  i,.  p.:;^;::  Lr.I^'^'''^  «  ^-''  ^^o  two  cap- 

Did  these  limits  allow    it  wn.ii,!   i        i      • 
romanti.  incidents  of  thil'rnlt "    I'n  /    """°  ''  ^^^^«"  ^"  *»'« 
co.npany,  wearied  with  p.   s't  and  t '""''"'  ^'"^  ^''-^''>«'o 

«Iu.nber,  all  but  the  two  laders  who  t  '  T''  '""  "'"''^fP'^'^  '" 
the  glirninering  light  of  the  enTwX'^^^^^^^^  ^"''  "^''^^  ^'^ 
"PF-ed  in  the  darkness,  but  ere  IoJZ.^:TC.  """  '"' ''■■^• 
Iioni,  a  scarlet  blanket    a,„l  tw,.      7     ,""  '''^'  ^«^""8'  a  powder- 

rog:diaofthcnnf<.rt  '1p    lirh^^^  '^''  "'''"'P'^-'  "- 

"itl'  tl'OHo  royalties  a    the  vie  ':        '   \"  ?''""''^  '"^^'■^'^'d  ^^''"'-^'^ 

-i  >'o^  in  the  w<.;.ds  o?  het;  t-r ^.'ire  "^ ''  ''?  ''''''^  ^^""'^ 
the  night  in  discourse    an.l   Ann      '  "^  '^''"*  *''"  remainderof 

I    mighty  success  he  h  d  forLtlvTn  "'   '"'  •"'    "^^^""^  ^^  -'''-^t 
I-lians,whenheserved  As  h    e'  a.a.nst  many  nations  of 

This  exploit  ended  Phi  '^1  '  ^^^''^'^■'^•'^■^°'^)  "i'l'ili]'^>^  father." 
'^••ly  a  yea  and  a  1  a  se  ,  I  T'  "'7  "'''^'''  ^''^•"«''  '^  '-^ed 
^ewE^gland.  T^L::'^:^Z t:'':^  ""''-^-^'^^  of 
others  pnrtially  destroye.l    six    hi       \  ,.'"  ''''"''  '-^"'^ '"any 

''-.ed  by  the.  enemv'  SU   L,         t    Im"'"""',  '"  '^"'   ^^^'"^ 
h^cs,  and  the  prosperity  of  tl.r  ^'^""''■^'"»en    had    lost  their 

cheeked  and  r Itai  1  "^  ,  •  "''t  '^"""^''^^  ''-'  ^^^^n  grievously 
victors,  utter  ruin  ,1  ^nl^  TT""  '"'"'  -^P-ienced  by  the 
^"  "-,  in  conna^raionbt.    '7      '''";'  """■''''  '''  vanquished. 

l''^''^'fv  broken,  ...d  mn  v  ofTl  "  ''^'  '"""'^^  '"^'^'^  ^^  -'"■ 
''■«  great  number  of  pi  norr'nT:?  "T'"  ^-•"^-■«^'-'.  With 
portion,  who  surrendeirdM  ''*''""•''  *^^""">'  '"""^•'•"^^'^ 

l""f«'lenth;  a.nono-  thom     A  P''^^"   /''«  <''"ff  warriors  were 

«"Jeavoured  to  s      %  3'!  f  "'•"^''"'  -'"-  'i^-^^  Church  vainly 

"-  value  of  his Te  ;L        [  T"  '""'/'""'  '-^"'^  ''"--"•^-.  -  ^Ir 

Vol.  TV-39  '"''  '''''^"''-     '^'''«  r^«^  ^^.th  th« 


100 


TiiK  ri:i)i'M';'s  uook  ov  histouy. 


f 


women  and  cliildrcn,  were  mwh  slaves,  niosl  of  llicm  bcin;.;  trmw- 
jjortd  and  f'olil  in  the  West,  Indies. 

"In  rof-ard  to  tlio  snn  of  riiilip,  (a  cl'ild  uiily  nine  years  old,)  tlio 
antlioritie^^  s^eeni  lo  Iwive  been  greatly  exercised  in  spirit.  Thorc 
wore  so  n\any  niee  iireeedonis  for  liis  ixecntinn  ti)  lie  luinid  in 
Seriptiire,  and  seenrity,  as  well  as  vengeance,  would  lie  hatislled  l.y 
tlie  destriH-tion  of  the  wlude  lionse  of  tlieir  dreaded  enemy.  N  itliin;.; 
can  lietler  show  the  venotnons  spirit  of  the  times,  or  the  depniviii!,' 
inflnenee,  of  a  harharons  theology,  than  the  foHowing  e.\tra<'t  frdin 
:\  letter,  written  by  Rev.  Increase  Mather,  the  minister  of  Hnston,  to 
his  frieml,  Mr.  Cotton:  'If  it  hiul  not  heen  ont  of  my  mind,  v.licii  1 
was  writing,  I  slioiild  have  said  something  about  Philip's  son.  It 
I'.s  virrssnri/  tJml  some  rffirluid  ronrse  nJioiiIiI  fie  lnhrn  ulioiit  In'ni.  Ik 
makes  iKr'tJiitik  of  llivlml,  ir/io  mts  a  liltle  chill  wlfti  h!s  fatJur  [ihe. 
chief  sachem  of  the.  Kihiuites)  was  killed  hj  Jonh,  ami  had  not  olliers 
fled  away  with  him,  I  am  apt  tothiid<,  that  Pavid  wonid  have  taken 
:i  cour.se  that  lladad  .shonld  never  have  proved  a  .seonrge  to  the  next 
generation.'  More  iinmanc  eoun.scls,  however,  prevailed,  aad  the 
poor  child  was  only  shipped  as  a  slave  to  Bermuda! 

"  Incidents,  sn(di  as  these,  coinmoidy  suppressed  by  popular  writors, 
are  not  useles.sly  recalled,  in  obtaining  a  just  view  of  the  .'Spirit  of 
the  past.  With  all  honour  to  the  truly-great  and  respectable  qunli- 
ties  of  our  New  England  aneestons— to  their  courage,  their  con- 
stancy, their  morality,  and  their  devotion— it  is  useless  to  disguise 
the  fa(;t  that,  in  the  grand  essentials  of  charity  and  liuinaiiity,  tlicy 
were  no  wise  in  advance  of  their  age,  and  in  the  less  e.«.sential,  but 
not  less  desirable  articles  of  amenity  ami  magnanimity,  most  de- 
cidedly behind  it.  lint  a  certain  infusion  of  disagreeable  qoiililies 
seems  almost  an  inseparable  eon.stitucnt  of  that  eanieshiess,  wiiicli 
alone  can  suceessfidly  contend  with  great  obstacles,  either  hiitnan  or 
natural — willi  civil  tyranny  an<l  religions  perseenlion— with  t!io 
privations  aiul  dangers  of  the  wilderness,  and  the  unsparing  enmity 
of  its  savasc  inhabitants. 


ii'Pi 


.  le  communities,  founded  by  men  thus  strongly  but  iinporfiTtly 
moulded,  have,  with  the  genial  influence  of  tinu',  and  by  the  admira- 
ble elements  of  freedom  contained  in  their  origin,  gradually  f.'ro\vii 
into  a  commonwealth,  freer  from  the  errors  which  disgraml  tlnir 
founders  tlu\n  any  other  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Their  projndice 
has  become  princip'e,  tiieir  superstition  has  reliiu-d  into  religi""; 
and  their  very  bigotry  has  softened    down    to    liberality.    "Wliilo 


roi!  V. 

>r  (lii'iii   bciiiy  ti'iiii.s- 

y  Tiiiio  yeiirs  old,)  tlio 
<('(!  ill  s|iiiit,  Tliure 
itioii  to  lio  luiiiid  in 
would  b('  Kitisticd  liy 
lied  ciu'iiiy.  Nnthiiig 
Ill's,  or  tlic  di'pniviiiif 
(llowiiig  t'Xli'iii't  froMi 
iiiiiiistiT  of  BoHtdii,  tn 

of  my  mind,  wlicn  1 
lioMt  IMiilip's  son.  It 
tiikcn  (iliont  hi  1)1.  !k 
I  u>l)f)i  his  follur  {the 
i,  and  liinl  not  others 
vid  would  liiivc  taken 
I  a  si'oiirj^o  to  llu'  next 
'T,  prevailed,  and  the 
imda! 

K'd  liy  popidiir  writers, 
;  view  of  tho  spirit  (if 
and  ri'spcctable  qiinli- 
r  courage,  their  con- 
;  ia  iisidcss  to  disguise 
y  and  humanity,  they 

tlu>  loss  es-sonlial,  but 
lagnauimity,  most  de- 

disiigrcoalilo  qiiiiliticH 
liat  ('(inicsliiesa,  which 
acdes,  citlior  liiunan  nr 
|)ci'SCculion — with  the 

llie  unsparing  enmity 

rougly  but  impcrfeetly 
iu>,  and  by  the  aihiiim- 
rigin,  gradually  grinvii 

wliicli  <lisgraee(l  tlieir 
urtli.     Tlu'ir  prejudice 

ri'liiii'd  into  religiim; 

to   liberality.    While 


NEW    EN0J,AND 


enjoying  tlio  rcrnhn  of  this  amcliorntin-r  ,.r  .    • 

may  well  b.i  .diaritable  to  ZTT'^      '""""'  ""■""  •'^«^^"''«nt. 

'•-gl.  the  tangh.,  .v.os.es  of  Uu^  Z/ninT'T   "'.""'^  ^^""^^ 
iiii:   liathwnvs    U.r i.    .....        ^"V"'"'''  ^"'''^^,  '"'t  who,  i„  trnad. 


lants 

jko 

,      ., ,  ■  ■•■^>,  ill  tread- 

I'l^'l.-'r  left"  behind  Them^'a  Oracle  t^T'   "'■'•'"■^''^"•''"y  «tnm. 
followed."*  ''"'-''  *""  '•%'a^^l  or  too  tortuous  to  be 


itig  pathways   through    the  mora 


CHAPTEH   III. 


«1!NEWEI.    INTKItFEUKNCE    OP     tHK     citOVVN     rv     u 
SKTTS.-sEVliKANCI.;    op    v  f  w     ,     u,  ^    MA88ACJIC- 

^^''StZ:::::::^7^^         ^^  the  gradual  e.ab. 

tl- growing  .spirit  <.nL,;,,,r;  2    'T  '"'^""'^   ^«   -b 
l«U^l>ed  thither  Kdward  Jindb  Ma.s.sacliusett.s,  in  1676,  dis- 

tio..ary  was  eoldiy  reeeiv.       i         '"  "'"  ''T'  "«"'^-     ''^'^  '-^^- 

'"^JJIe  with  its  govern,,  en       R  "^  ""  f'"--'''""^'"*  to  inter- 

«i-^  weeks,  to  E„gla,^;'f •":;''•'-  f^'^  ^  -J<'urn  of  only 
-pidityoftlieeo'tSv    ;;::^^  -<>  i"flamed  the 

-'-tts,certiL,y  r  :,^  ir7' ^'-'T'''  '"  '^''"'"  "^  ^'- 

^'ew  Hampshire,  ^^;,,s  set    si  n'  '•••'"'•'•^•''^"""  over  Maine  and 

•'-of  tl.  patentee  ^.  "thf  t:^  H  "'  '"  '"'"''^'^^  ''•"'"  ^''0 
f-t  part  o,'  the  n.nier^  ^l^:.:'::^"^  ?"'""  «!^t  '— i-  -^f 
l^een  considered  an  inti-Md  Zl-  ',  •"■'''"  "^'"^  '^'"'"^•'•'y 
«rned  as  a  mere  coIo  voFn  .'  ' '""""""'  '"^  ^^'"«  ""-  g<-- 

'-t,  the  manifesta     n  o        .i      "h"'  "'"'"""^  ^"'  "*  '""^''  '^'•--- 
^V^e  new  claimant  c;!!:!;;:':;'"^^^''^'''  ^'^'■^  ^^^'^^'^  -PP-W 

"ew  Hampshire,  severer  n.m  Massachusetts,  a  direct  royal 
*IW„verer8,&,c.,ofAni.,,ica. 


f  i 


tlH^Hi 

■^^^H 

^^^^S 

I^^^^B 

HPif 

IBB;,    .,,,. 

ilH 

162 


TlIK  rEOl'LK'S   HOOK    OF   lUSTOKY, 


government  was  set  up,  the  offices  of  president,  &c.,  being  filled  by 
the  act  of  the  crown.  A  popular  assembly  was  allowed,  which,  at 
its  first  meeting  (1680),  took  occasion  to  assert  the  independence  of 
the  province,  declaring  that  no  law  or  ordinance  should  be  valid 
unless  "made  by  the  assembly  and  approved  by  the  people."  The 
patentee,  at  issue  with  the  colonists  on  matters  of  title,  procured  for 
himself  the  authority  of  appointing  a  governor.  Cranfield,  the  per- 
son selected,  a  man  of  rapacious  and  arbitrary  disposition,  hastened 
to  the  infant  colony,  in  strong  hopes  of  making  a  fortune  at  the 
expense  of  its  inhabitants.  Disappointed  in  his  expectations,  he 
committed  a  thousand  rash  and  tyrannical  acts,  continually  inter- 
fering in  matters  beyond  his  authority,  boih  civil  and  religions,  and 
striving,  on  false  and  impudent  pretexts,  to  wring  money  from  the 
slenderly-filled  purses  of  the  settlers.  To  these  exactions  the  assem- 
bly atid  people  opposed  as  determined  a  resistance — a  resistance 
which  the  latter  finally  carried  to  the  extreme  of  openly  maltreating 
his  officers;  and,  with  his  hopes  of  plunder  and  profit  almost  quite 
ungratified,  he  returned  to  England,  bearing  a  malicious  report  of 
the  condition  of  the  province. 

In  view  of  the  prospective  danger  to  the  liberties  of  Massacliusett.'*, 
a  gen(.i-al  synod  of  all  the  churches  was  convoked,  while  the  general 
court,  by  some  formal  enactments,  in  testimony  of  its  loyalty,  souglit 
to  avert  the  loyal  displeasure.     The  king's  arms  were  put  up  on  the 
court-house,  and  two  or  three  acts  in  support  of  the  royal  dignity 
were  pas.^cd;  ai.d,  though  the  Navigation  Act  was  expressly  de- 
clared illegal  and  not  binding,  the  general  court,  by  an  act  of  its 
own,  rendered  its  provisions  valid  and  effective.     The  king,  who 
certainly  exhibited  considerable  moderation,  twice  again  dispatehtd 
a  message  of  remonstrance  to  Massachusetts  on  its  opposition  to  the 
home-government,  and  it  was  evident  that  extreme  measures  would 
finally  be  resorted  to.     The  province,  in  1682,  dispatched  agents  to 
England  to  defi-nd  its  interests;  and,  if  possible,  to  bribe  the  kiii:' 
into  protecting  thein.     Their  mission  was   in  vain;    and  that  tiio 
charier  was  in  danger,  was  evident  from  the  systematic  warf.mi 
against  civic  corporations  then  being  waged  by  the  court  in  Knghnid, 
Great  agitaticm  pervaded  the  province.     Maine  was  surrendered,  but 
it  was  resolved  to  hold  the  cliarter  as  long  as  possible. 

Legal  proceedings  were   eoinmeneed  agaihist  its   holdens  in  the    j 

English  courts;  ami  the  juilgcs,  in  those  times,  being  gcncriilly  mere    j 

1       creatures  of  the  ciown,  only  one  issue  coi  Id  be  Kxiked  for.    Hie    ; 


NEW  ENGLAND. 


163 


government.    Jndging  from  the  Sj  TT  "  "8'"  "'  'ia 

England,  (for  even  London  had  bee'  °  n  T'°  '"'P"''''""'  ia 
.i;yoya,  power,,  .he  P^ct  of^«e3t  .tlU-rif  "''"'^ 
of  law  appeared  entirely  ho))eles,  I'l,.  ™"'""<=«  '"  'he  courts 
accordingly  resolved  at  fast  o  trT.ho  1^7^""  """  T^^''"^ 
.ni.«on,  and  throw  themselves' „  ,"11"  r"'r""'''"' ^"'=- 
proposal  that  agents,  to  receive  ih.  L    i         *     foAearanee.     A 

l«clK-cl  to  Eng?a„d,'was  sr  ,  o  tTfhorcTde:'  f^''^"- 
more  popular  body,  after  an  anin.ated  dcbaL  „f  .  fT  7'  ''"'  "'" 
by  .heir  own  act,  ,0  sanction  the  surre  to  of  ,1  ";!^"'  "'°'"=''' 
^cessful  opposition  of  former  times  was  L:  1  e^  J^^^  ^'^ 
urged  iis  a  matter  of  religion  not  vnlnntn  -i  ^^^  ^^^" 

,l,e  Lands  of  a  power  inimical  ^VtoSflr^T''  '"^ 
*..arj  firmness  and  spirit,  they  resolved  ,T,C  "■  ""''""•■ 
-ifiee,  and  only  to  iu.  a's  a  bod  p  1'^:*  ""  ™'»"'-^ 
.superior  power.  The  latter  result  "must  wZ  r  ^  ""  ""^ 
nionslranee  to  the  kin»  proved  fn,M  ,  '^"'""™-     I^" 

Knglish  judges,  then,  asVoUcariS'ti,"     '"  ■'°"'''  "**'  "- 
.be  pleasure  of  the  c'rown,  dec,r '^elh'S  StT 'rhuT 

-.;  u.  of  jhth'T  ,:rdS  r;:r  ir;i:r:;'^  "- 

...J.1.endence  rather  in  name  than  in  lUet  L  ,  '  '"" '''' 
.""Sis:ra.es,  and  the  overshadowin^i  L  nee  o  he'cl  if  °'  ""^ 
..itu.S  a  species  of  mingled  ari,to°racv  Tn^  ?i  '''  """'• 

.>1«.g t  to  more  c„li,°l,te„!,    id™  '^r  ,^        "™°>'  *"«■'"'>="% 

c™,  this  iu,pcrfect  foru,  o  1  ,.*:  d"se  r  ''"•  ''"'  '^"'""'-'' 
l.«b«  .legree  useful  in  train  g'tmdnrZ"^"  '"  "" 
J«alo.»y  of  foreign  power,  and  fostering  be  'Tot"  7""  '°  ." 
nore  hberal  national  spirit.  *        °'  "  """*''  »'"' 


SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  CAROLIMS. 


FAILURE   TO   PLANT   COLONIES   IN   THE   SOUTH.  —  EMIOIUTIOJf 
fKOM    VIRGINIA  TO  NORTH   CAROJ.INA:    FROM  HARHADOKST0 
SOUTH    CAROLINA. — THE    PATENT    OK    CHARLES    II, — 
LEGISLATION    OF    LOCKK    AND   SHAFTESRURY.  —  CUM- 
BROUS SYSTEM  OF  OOVERNMKNT. — DISCONTENT  OF 
THE  SETTLERS.  —  INSURRKCTION   IN    NORTH 
CAROLINA. — SOTHEL  DEPOSKI)  IIY  THE  PEO- 
PLE.  CH.VRLESTON    FOUNDED.  —  CON- 
STITUTION OF  LOCKE  RELINQUISHED. 

The  first  attempt  of  tlic  English  to  found  a  settlement  in  America 
had  been  made  in  the  mild  regions  lying  soutli  of  Virginia.  The 
disastrous  failure  of  that  attempt  (Raleigh's),  eombined  with  the  diffi 
culty  of  aecess  and  a  dread  of  Sjtanish  cruelty,  had  retarded  any 
further  eftbrt  in  the  same  direetion;  and  wliilc  the  bleaker  and  less 
fertile  provinees  of  the  north  were  rapidly  filUng  up  witli  eoutiiniod 
emigration,  no  enterprise  was  direeled  to  the  rieh  soil  and  genial 
climate  of  the  south.  Sir  Ixobert  Ilcath,  in  1(500,  indeed,  ohtiiiikd 
of  Charles  I.  a  patent  for  the  foundation  of  a  colony  tlierc;  but  tlii.s 
instrument,  from  his  failure  to  elfeet  a  settlement,  be(;aine  forfeited. 

Colonists  from  Virginia,  between  the  years  1610  and  IGoO,  suH'er- 
ing  from  religious  intolei'ance,  totjk  refuge  beyond  the  borders  of 
tliut  province,  and  formed  settlements  on  the  northern  shores  of 
Albemarle  Sound — since  known  as  North  Carolina.  By  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  and  the  mildness  of  the  winters,  they  soon  lived  in  ease, 
their  cattle  and  swine  finding  subsistence  in  the  natural  products  of 
the  country;  and  their  numbers  were  yearly  increased  by  fre.sli 
emigration.  Some  adventurers  from  Massachusetts,  in  IGCl,  made 
au  attempt  to  found  a  settlement  near  Cape  Fear;  but  the  expeii- 
meut  proved  unsuccessful.  Their  places  were,  however,  supplied 
by  a  party  of  emigrants  from  Barbadoes,  who  proceeded  to  the  same 


8KTTLKMENT0F   TilK   CAJtoLINAS.  jgg 

region,  and  nlantod  a  colonv  fl.f.,v>  ^w.i    r  ,    . 

T^     V  ^"lony  tiieio,  selecting  as  the  r  ■'•ovfirnor  ^r 

John  YeonuuiH,  ono  of  their  number  oovcrnor  bir 

bury),  to  Herkeiy,  the  governor  of  Virginia  .tnd  (.th.   « 

h.  llici,  all  Uan,l„,a,  (r,„„  ll,c  ihirtj-siul,  ,l,..,r,,c  „f  jali  .,X  * 

.may,  gave  ,„„„1,  o„»„rago,„c„.  to  tl,.»„ ,'  l.a'l  aino    1,      .« 

orni<,iiig   .lUUitional    emigrants  from  A^irtrinia  to   Nnrtl,   P..  v 
settled  then,  under  the  popular  rule  of  Drtmlnd  '^""'""• 

.xtcmlu    ucstvva.d  across  the  enfre  eontinent,  were  empowered  to 
create  tules  and  to  mstitute  orders  of  nobility.'     This  sin^X  pnt" 

.go  was  granted,  m  order  that  an  elaborate  eonstitutio^  levTs.^l 
^  T7  ""'  ^''«  -'^'-^-'-1  Loeke,  might  be  ear^'ed  to 
ciiea  By  tins  extraordinary  instruu.eut,  the  fruit,  doubtless  of 
l-'fu  mgenu.ty  and  labour,  a  -system  of  government  va  set 'up 
en  rely  w.thout  a  precedent  in  the  history  of  legislation.  Its  m.I' 
ilaturc  was  a  hereditary  landed  aristocracy,  dependent  on  p  o2  ! 

one  for  ,ts  right  to  rule.  The  territory  was  divided  into  ou  ies"^ 
of  fonr  luuHlred  and  eighty  thousand  aerc-s  each,  in  each  of  wS 
were    o  1.  appomted  one  landgrave,  or  earl,  and  two  eaei',:^ ^ 

-      H.  less.     W  ,th  a  elnklKsh  .ninuteness,  the  details  of  pedi-^ree 

0     ..lu„n   and  eeren.ony,  were  nuule  the  especial  provin  e  of"^,  e 

t  J.S..    ,g.,ta,..es.     Such  was  the  eonstituti.m,  carefully  eS^nZ 

Dy  -lie    nust  pln!osoph,.al    ,nin.l  of  the  age,   which  yet    from  the 

I  and  the  needs  of  a  new  country,  never  took  practical 

tlUt,  .UK    ..oon  lapsed  into  neglect  and  abrogation. 

^d  IS  for  their  own  government,  received  with  mncli  disglist 

J.         -H,,  ,  eomplicated  system  which  the  proprietors  Ll 

1  >  s.  the  immed.ale  adoption  of  .11  i,s  particulars.     They  in- 

^::t:T:::  ^rn'^^f''^^  -^  ':'---^"  ^-«nt,  but  ^ith. 


success;  for  the  people,  d 


IS: 


atisfied,  imprisoned  their  colleetor 


r  ;,.  ;_ 


166 


THE    PKOl'LK'S    1U)()K    OF    IIISTOKY, 


and  other  ofKiccrs,  seized  the  public  funds,  and  took  all  the  functions 
of  government  into  their  own  hands.  Their  chief  leader,  who  pro- 
ceeded  to  England  to  defend  their  cause,  was  there  tried  for  treason 
and  was  acquitted  only  by  the  eloquence  and  influence  of  Shaftes- 
bury, who  considered  the  insurrection  as  rather  a  dispute  amoii"- 
the  colonists  themselves  than  a  revolution  against  the  home  om- 
ernment. 

The  better  to  carry  out  their  obnoxious  constitution,  the  proprie- 
tors next  sent  out  Seth  Sothel,  one  of  their  own  nund)er,  as  'i-ov- 
crnor.  This  man,  corrupt  and  greedy,  for  six  years  mismanaged 
the  affairs  of  the  province,  enriching  himself  by  bribes  and  extortion. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  the  people  put  him  under  arrest,  and  tlio 
assembly  tried  liim  and  banished  him  from  tlie  province.  The  iiro- 
prietons,  however  ill  pleased  at  the  independence  of  that  body, 
could  not  deny  the  justice  of  the  sentence.  They  approved  the 
measure,  and  appointed  Philip  Ludwell  as  his  succes.sor. 

In  1670,  they  dispatched  a  body  of  emigrants,  under  William 
Sayle,  to  Port  Royal,  in  South  Carolina.  In  the  following  year, 
dissatisfied  with  the  situation,  he  removed  the  settlement  to  the 
neck  of  land  lying  between  the  rivers  Ashley  and  Cooper,  whore  he 
founded  a  settlement  named  Charleston,  in  honour  of  the  king,  and 
since  known  as  one  of  the  fairest  and  wealthiest  of  southern  cities. 
At  his  death,  which  occurred  not  long  after,  Sir  John  Yeomaiis 
already,  for  some  years,  governor  at  Cape  Fear,  was  appointed  in 
his  place;  and  the  new  settlement  gradually  absorbed  into  itself  the 
colonists  from  that  region.  A  separate  government  thus  established 
over  the  two  colonies,  the  names  of  North  and  South  Carolina  came 
into  common  usage. 

Yeomans,  accused  of  converting  his  office  info  an  instrument  for 
his  own  profit,  was  replaced  by  West,  under  whose  popular  rule  the 
colony  continued  to  increase  and  prosper.  The  proprietors,  indeed, 
reaped  no  fruits  from  their  enlerprise,  having  expended  large  smns 
without  getting  any  return.  Dutch  emigrants,  both  from  New  York 
and  the  mother-country,  attracted  by  the  mildness  of  the  cliniaie 
and  the  political  freedom  enjoyed  by  the  settlers,  resorted  to  South 
Carolina;  and  the  oppression  of  the  French  Protestants,  under 
Louis  XIV.,  also  induced,  numbers  of  the  persecuted  sect  to  take 
refuge  there. 

In  1686,  James  Colleton,  a  brother  of  one  of  the  proprietors,  was 
appointed  governor,  with  the  title  of  landgrave.     Popular  disecm- 


SKTTLKMKNT   OK   THE   CAKULINAS.  jgy 

.  tent  especially  .t  the  elaborate  and  aristoerutie  system  devised  bv 
Locke,  was  not  long  in  .naicing  its  den.onstration ;  and  1  o  ncnv 
governor  was  soon   involved  in  disoiites  witl,  tl  • 

^.My,  deced  ex,,..,,  to  l^Z,  l^^]^'""::;/" 

and,  aeeordui"-  V.  m  1H<)M    tV.o   ,.,i.  i  i  i'-iMi4ui>n  n, 

clnkl^-iayatnobi    .V      ult  r  '^''""'    "'^•'   '''^ 

can  he   nade  res     <  S  I  ?      '^''  '"  "''''^*'  institutions  wind. 

:asen:::;^Sg:s::d'^::^^^"^-"^-^- 


ed  sect  to  tnke 


u_ 


YIEGINIA, 


CONTINUED. 


RETROGRADE   MOVEMENTS    IN    VIROINIA. REVIVAL   OF   INTOL- 
ERANCE   AND    01'1'RESSION. GRANT   OF    VIRGINIA    TO   C  L' L- 

TEPPER     AND     ARLINGTON.  —  POPULAR      DISCONTENT. — 
INDIAN    WAR. ML'RDER   OF   THE   CHIEFS. — INSURREC- 
TION    UNDER    BACON.  —  TRIUMPH     OF    THE    PEOPLE. 


The  iinfuvour.ible  eflcct  of  the  llosloration  on  Virginia  has  heeii 
meiitionod.  The  renewal  and  enforeenieiit  of  the  Navigation  Att 
fettered  her  rapidly  inereasing  eoinnieree,  and  the  triumph  of  roy- 
alty at  home  was  followed  by  that  of  tyranny  and  intolerance  in 
the  provincial  government.  The  great  immber  of  servant.-;,  or 
slaves,  in  effect,  for  a  term  of  years,  who  had  been  brought  from 
England,  even  after  their  emancijiation,  constituted  an  inferior  and 
uncducak;d  clas,-^,  easily  kept  down  by  an  aiistocraey  of  masters  ;uij 
slaveholders,  wlio.-c  |)ower  in  tlie  state  was  continually  on  the 
increase.  There  seems  to  have  \k'vi\  even  a  systenuUie  desire  anioiii' 
the  government  jiaity  to  keep  a  [xirtion  of  the  eolonists  in  tlepriid- 
ent  ignorance.  Berkeley  thanks  God  that  free-selu)o!s  or  [iriiili.!" 
presses  were  unknown  in  Virginia,  and  says  he  hopes  there  will  Ix' 
none  this  hundred  years;  "lor  learning,"  he  sagely  remarks,  ''li;i.s 
brought  disobedience,  and  heresy,  and  si>els  into  llie  world,  ainl 
printing  hath  divulged  them,"  ka.  Negro  slavery,  by  this  lime 
considerably  on  the  increase,  was  absolute,  the  control  of  the  niiistcr 
being  almost  unfettered  by  any  l,i\v  of  I'estr.iint. 

The  Episcopal  church  was  established  as  the  religion  of  the  state; 
and  persecution  of  dissenter.-^,  especially  of  Baptists  and  Quiikons, 
was  revived.  The  assembly  of  burgesses  appi'opriated  e.\turlioiKtto 
sums  for  their  own  pay,  as  le^zislalors,  and,  by  refusing,  for  laaiiy 
yeans,  to  dissolve,  set  up  a  sjieeies  of  presei'ipiive  govermnent,  litlli; 


lie  drsiri'  iiiiiinnr 


V  Hi  (!  I  X  1  A  . 


lliU 


tliort  of  actual  uauriialion.     'I'lio  fruit  „r  fl„  ,„,    i  .  ■        ,     .      , 
doine»tio  «o„ii,„„y  „f  Virginia  wa7,    1     .     ^        '"'"''''•  '"  """ 

pri,.ci,.c.  of  „„„„,a,  „,e,..,  Jt:t^^7\ZX'' ^ 
asscmUy  conlmuM.g  f„r  an  ii,J„nnito  n'riud  at  tl„.    I         ^' ,  ^ 

,.vc.„i„,  „.,j  u»,«i„„  .„  i„  iiieinbij:  .:„:,' :;;:'" 

these  were  the  e  lan.-es  wliicli   it.  .,^v^„f  .  press,— 

"■iqvo  h  iiioii,  111  about  ten  vf">r«   \ini-,>  ,.»•    *    ^   • 
i)mv  iico  tli'it  li.wl  I,  .         •       ,         ''^"  Jtars   were  ellueteci  m  a 

piOVlMCC  Ul.lt  llilU   l)C<run   to  OniOVtlP  hcnofitc,  .  e  ■   ^       1   ■      ■. 

enje  and  a  «.af,i.a,I,^iin,ioJi4  J^^;:^!::,:^^^  ^"•^-'  ■"'"^^^"^■ 

uia  ic,  WHO,  in   1673,  bestowed  on  Lord  Culpenner  in.l  tl,,.  V    i 
of  Arlington,     tlie  latter   «,nnceted  with    hi  J  ,       ''^ 

tic)  the  entire  control  of  Vii.,        ,7l'\,t^    Zr    ^'^'"''^'^''^^ 

endeavour  to  ohtan  •ie)iMrh.rO>,.+i        i     •  ,  '^rown,  and    to 

.hit  ;L, ,::'■"''=  r7\"r"  t'^^'^^'"'  '""  'i™- 

to  revolt  In,,  '    "v  ,i        p    ''"=°""="'='i  Sathering.,  a„,|  a  tcjency 

i--etion.  iiostnl;;r;::;e  t:r  ;:d ': ::;:;;:; ^s '"  r-^^^^  f 

.■"Hi  Other  tribes,  both  in  Vir-Miii,    „d  Tf-      ,n  '^"'^^"^'-"'"''« 

-",  -  chiefs,  presenting  th^ I^f  to  ^  H:^'  ^'^  ""  "-'  -- 
dercd  by  the  onn,g..d  setters.  Berk^v  i,^^,^  !!  '  "T  """" 
meal,  was  not  without  feelin..s  of  honor'     O  '  ''"^V","'    •"'""" 

he  exclaimed,  "If  thev  ha  HI  /  .  u  '^^'"''"g  "^^  ^ho  eriine, 
"11  my  friend  vet  thov  V  '"''''''''''  ''^"'^  '"3' n-ther,  and 
have  gf,ne  ^nlii;!  "       ^  '"'  "^"^  ^^  ^"'^^  ^^i^-'  'he^'  ought  to 

•.I'M.  plantations  m  Virguua,  and  wreaking  a  tenfold  reven^o 


I 


170 


TIIK    I'Kl)  I' I,  i;\S    BOOK    Of    IIISTOKV. 


for  tlic  loss  of  tlioir  chiefs.     'I'lio  iiiovcrncnt  spn-ad,  and  the  peojilc— 
their  lives,  by  the  insiiffieieiiey  of  the  government,  constiiiitly  ex- 
j)osed — deiimnded  the  permission  to  curry  on  the  war  themselves. 
But  Rerkekiy,  ever  desjjising  ihe  popular  opinion,  and  his  interest,  it 
is  said,   being  enlisted  in  belialf  of  peace  by  a  mon()p(jly  of  tlio 
l)(>iiver- trade,  which  he  held,  stubbondy  refused  his  ct)nsent.    A 
general   insurrection  was  tlie  result.     Under  Nathaniel  Bacon,  an 
Knglish  planter,  of  wealth  and  influence,  of  high  courage  and  indo- 
liendence,  five  h.undred  men  iissembled  in  arms,  resolved  on  a  cam- 
i>iiign    against   the  enemy.     Berkeley,  enraged,  proclaimed   them 
rebels,  and  was  levying  forces  to  suppress  the  movement,  when  a 
fresh  and  formidable  insurrection  of  the  people,  who  demanded  the 
immediate  dissolution  of  the  assembly,  compelled  him  to  desist,  and 
return  to  Jamestown.     With  almoat  the  entire  force  of  the  people 
arrayed  against  them,  the  governor  and  the  aristocracy  were  com- 
pelled to  yield.     The  assembly,  which  had  .so  long  sat  an  incubus 
on  the  province,  was  dissolved,  and  on  the  election  of  a  new  one 
Bacon  (successful  in  his  Indian  campaign)  and  a  majority  of  his 
partisans  were  returned  as  members.     The   successful  leader  ac- 
knowledged his  error  in  acting  without  a  commission,  and,  to  the 
universal  joy  of  the  people,  was  appointed  commander-in-chief. 


kJ      Jjili      OiJj      lb  X        Jj      JjI  X      X  o 

THE    POPUT.AU    ASSEMBLY. — MEASUKES   OF  REFORM. — OPPOSITION 

AND  TREACHERY  OF  HIUtKELEY. CIVIL   WAR. — TIUrMPIl  OP 

THE    INSURGENTS.  —  JAMESTOWN    BURNED. DE.\TiI    OF    liA- 

CON;    HIS  CHARACTI'IR. — RUIN  OF  THE  POPULAR  CAUSE. 

NUMEROUS   EXECUTIONS... DEATH    OF    BERKELEY. 

—  ADMINISTRATION    OF    CULPEPPER.    ETC. 

The  new  assembly,  with  a  rational  and  moderate  zeal  for  ivforin, 
proceeded  to  pass  many  salutary  acts,  restricting  the  magistrates  in 
their  arbitrary  and  extortionate  course,  providing  for  the  purity  of 
elections,  curtailing  exorbitant  fees  and  salaries,  taking  ])reeautions 
against  the  sj>rcad  of  intemperance,  and  finally,  by  a  gencrul  am- 
nesty, extinguishing,  it  was  hoped,  the  seeds  of  civil  conflagration, 


VIRGINIA. 


171 


The  demeanour  of  tlie  governor  was  dubious,  and  Bacon,  leaving 
Jamestown,  presently  returned,  at  tl.c  head  of  five  l.undred  deter- 
mnicd  men,  in  wliose  presenec  rosistanee  was  in  vain.     Berl<eley 
advanced  to  meet  tliem,  and,  baring  Ida  breast,  exclaimed,  "A  fair 
mark-slioot  I"  but  Bacon  told  liim  that  not  a  hair  of  his  head  or  an  v 
man's  should  bo  hurt;  and  the  passionate  old  governor,  yielding  to 
necessity,  i.saucd  the  required  commission  for  war  against  tlie"lii- 
tlians,  and,  with  the  council  and  assembly,  oven  dispatched  to'  En.>-- 
land  higli  cmmcndations  of  the  loyalty  and  patriotism  of  his  rival 
How  insincere  were  his  intentions  is  evident  from  the  fact  that, 
just  as  llie  i)rovinee  was  regaining  confidence,  and    Bacon    com- 
n.eiicing  a  camf)aign  against  the  enemy,  he  repaired  to  Gloucester 
cmuity,  and  again  proclaimed  him  a  traitor.     The  latter,  in  turn, 
suiimioned  a  convention  of  the  principal  persons  of  the  colony  at  Wil- 
liamsburgh,  when  all  present  took  oath  to  maintain  the  Indian  war, 
and,  if  necessary,  to  8U[)j)ort  their  leader  against  the  governor  him- 
self.    The  latter  was  endeavouring  to  levy  an  army  on  the  eastern 
.'^liore  of  the  Chesapeake,  and,  on  the  advice  of  Drummond,  who  had 
been  governor  of  North  CaroHna,  the  governor's  term  ha-ing  ex- 
pired, Ids  retreat  was  held  as  an  abdication,  and  a  convention  of  the 
people  was  summoned  f  .r  the  settlement  of  the  government.     By 
the  promise  of  plunder,  and  of  fn.'edom  to  the  servants  of  his  oppo- 
ncnis,  l]erkeley  gatheied,  in  Accomack,  a  large  force,  of  the  baser 
sort,  u  itli  which,  transported  in  fifteen  vessels,  he  sailed  for  James- 
town.    Landing,  he  fell  on  his  knees,  returning  thanks  to  God,  and 
fortliwith  again  proclaimed  Bacon  and  his  followers  traitors. 

Tlie  latter,  after  having  made  a  suecessful  exjiedition  against  the 
Iinlinns,  lia<l  di.sbanded  his  troops;  but,  on  learning  1110,^0  tidin-s, 
with  a  small,  but  trusty  body  of  followers,  at  onee^ marched  upon 
the  capital.  Tlu,  ignoble  forces  of  the  governor  showed  more  dis- 
I"^''"' ^'""  Pl"'idcr  than  fighting;  and  he  was  compelled  to  evacu- 
ate .lamestown  by  night,  and  take  refuge,  with  1  ,  people,  aboard 
the  fleet.  Bacon  entered  tJie  deserted  town  the  next  dav,  and,  as  it 
^vas  doulitful  how  l(Mig  he  could  retain  possession,  it  was  resolved 
to  bum  it.  Tliis  was  accordingly  d.me,  some  of  his  chief  adberents 
finnir  tlu'ir  own  houses,  and  the  little  capital,  for  seventy  years  the 
cliier,  n;iy,  almost  the  only  town  in  Virginia,  was  laid  in  .'isiies.  Tiie 
li'iir-ruined  church,  still  standing,  is  all  that  attests  to  the  pas.sing 
voyauvi  the  form.T  existence  of  tlie  earliest  of  American  settlements" 
After  further  and  signal  r.uece^ses,  the  career  of  the  insurgents 


172 


TIIK   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   IIISTOKY. 


was  brounl.L  to  a  sudden  end  by  tlie  untimdy  dcutli  of  tlieir  gallant 
leader,  who,  on  tl.e  1st  of  October,  KiTO,  i)eri,shed  of  a  di,sea^°  con- 
traeted  by  exposure  to  tlie  damp  nigbts  of  that  unbealtliy  ref-i,,,,. 
His  memory,  if  tarnislied  by  some  errors,  will  always  bo  liekl  in 
bi.uh  resjjeet,  as  that  of  the  first  header  in  the  euiise  of  American 
in.h'pendeneo.  lie  was,  it  seems,  brave  in  the  liekl,  elocpient  in 
eoiiiieil,  magnanimous,  honourable.  The  liberal  and  moderate  legis- 
latiun  of  the  party  whieh  he  neaded  bears  witness  to  his  talent  for 
government.  The  enthusiastie  afleetion  of  his  friends  and  followers 
evinces  his  amiable  nature.  That  he  was  forced  into  insurrection 
and  continued  civ^l  warfare  was,  doubtless,  the  fmit  of  the  tyranny 
of  the  ascendant  faction,  and  the  ill  faith  of  the  arbitrary  governor 
at  its  head. 

With  Bacon  expired  the  hope  and  success  of  the  revolutionary 
party.     Without  a  leader  of  talent  or  inOuence  sufficient  to  combine 
them,  the  isolated  and  disorganized  sections  of  that  party  were,  in 
turn,  defeated,  and  severally  suppressed  by  the  loyalists.     Berkeley 
was  restored  to  power,  and,  by  licquent  and  merciless  executions, 
evinced  the  natural  cruelty  of  his  disposition,  and  the  tyrannical 
sentiment  of  the  cause  which  he  headed.     Druminond,  iuid  more 
than  twenty  others,  were  hanged;  and  nothing  but  a  remonstrance 
from  the  assembly   finally  availed  to  stay  tlie  hand  of  the  execu- 
tioner.   Charles  IF.  learned  with  much  indignation  of  the  .sunguin.iry 
]>roceedings  of  his  governor,  and  said  that  the  old  fool  had  taken 
more  lives  in  the  wilderness  of  Virginia  tlian  himself  had  for  the 
murder  of  his  father.     In  a  proclamation,  he  severely  censured  these 
atrocities,  and  when  Berkeley,  not  long  after,  returned  to  Englniid, 
l)ublie  opinion   condemned   him  with  equal   severity.     His  dculi,' 
which  took  place  soon  after  his  arrival,' was  probably  hastened  bv  a 
sense  of  the  condemnation  of  the  soveieign  and  the  peo))le. 

As  usual  on  the  suppressicm  of  any  popular  movement,  the  futile 
insurrection  in  Virginia  only  entailed  fresh  evils  on  the  country, 
being  made  the  pretext  for  refusing  it  a  charter,  and  continuing  its 
dependence  on  the  crown.  All  the  late  acts  of  the  refoinicd  assem- 
bly were  repealed,  and  all  the  ancient  grievances  and  o|)|.ressi()ns 
were  rein.stated.  No  printing  was  allowed,  and  freedom  of  s),eccli 
was  curtailed  by  grievous  penalties.  Excessive  and  arbitrary  taxes 
were  levied  by  the  authorities,  and  the  condition  of  the  people, 
especially  the  poorer  classes,  was  again  that  of  subjection  and 
op2)rcssion. 


I 


VI  RO  INI  A. 


173 


^ot  long  after  tlio  dppnrtiirc  of  Berkelcv  T  or,1  P,  i 
tl.o  two  pator.toos  of  Vir.nnh,    a  rna     Ip  ^"^'Wr,  one  of 

•i^'tnrc,  obtai,u-(I  from  in  ^""''''""^  ""'^  avaricious 

onnn,..,.i.o..etop.fltai;:ae:rs^:':;;^^^^^^^ 

iiM'l,  to  the  grout  griof  of  the  planters  ho  I,-,.!  „  i  ,  7"^'^''' 

tolKicco.     Aaor  reniahinir  in  VirLnnJ.,  J.nt  .,  f  J'  '"V  '<eail  ot 

.ii..,ri;;l,-  ;:xt  x^r'r  """^•^^"  --  ^^^  '-^^ 

-nsnborchnafon  provailod,  and  wore  suppressed  by  execution       C 
Fpper  returned  for  a  few  montbs  to    oan  nil  .fo^lT  ♦ 

(mm  }m  nntpnt  nt  ♦!,„  ,.  .  '  possible  advantaOTS 

In  1684,  the  obnoxious  grant  was  annulled,  and  the  Government 
of  ^  ,rg,n,a  was  resumed  hy  the  crown.     Eflingham,  thffirTrTn  a 
governor,  used  h,s  ofT.ce  only  as  a  means  of  proouri.  petty  eZ 
ment.,  and  thus  rendered  himself  contemptible  in  the'el  oT  ho 

0.,  e     1  he  accession  of  James  11.,  in  thi  following  yeir  ,ul    le 
.ll-lated  rebellion  of  Monmouth,  increased  the  pornilati  m     f  V 
gnnn,  by  a  number  of  convicts,  who,  on  the  s^ppressi       of  It 
rriovemen  ,  were  bestowed  by  the  king  on  his  fi  ourit      a  d  bv 

em,  w,th  shameless  venality,  were  sold  into  slavery  in  Ch  T 
Uml.r  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  new  .sovereign,  scar/ely  a  si  d.  w 
of  sel  -government  was  allowed  to  the  people  of  Vinnnl      A    eJ 

z:  rt::^,'""^  r^-'-'  -  '--ssembiy.  th^bo^ti 

r  1  ""i<-iionary,   tliat  tlie  governor,  dest  tnte  nf  n 

oice  adequate  to  suppress  it,  was  compelled  to  to;npor   e  Ld  to 
forego  any  attempts  at  renewed  oppression.  ' 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


A^ 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OP  DELAWAEE. 


THE   FIRST   DUTCH   COLONY   IN   DELAWARE:   ITS   DESTRUCTION. 
— SWEDES  AND  FINNS  UNDER  MINUIT.  —  CONQUEST  OF  THE 
SWEDISH   SETTLEMENTS   BY  THE   DUTCH,  UNDER  STUI- 
VESANT.  —  DELAWARE  UNDER  THE  DUKE  OF  YORK:  ' 
UNDER  PENN. — DISPUTES  WITH  MARYLAND  CON- 
CERNING   HOUNDARIES. — SEPARATION    OF 
DELAWARE    FROM    PENNSYLVANIA. 


The  disastrous  attempt  of  the  Dutch,  under  De  Vriez,  in  163]  to 
found  a  settlement  in  Delaware,  has  been  described.  ("Dutch  in 
America.")  The  unfortunate  little  colony  left  by  that  navigator 
near  the  site  of  Lewistown,  numbering  only  thirty-four  souls  was 
cut  off  by  the  Indians  to  avenge  the  death  of  a  chief,  whose  life  had 
been  sacrificed  to  the  implacable  sulkiness  of  the  governor  Gillis 
Osset.  De  Vriez,  returning  from  Holland  the  next  year,  found  no 
relics  of  the  settlement,  except  the  bones  of  his  countrymen,  which 
lay  bleaching  on  the  shore. 

'J'he  next  enterprise  in  the  same  direction  was  that  of  a  small  body 
of  Swedes  and  Finns,  who,  in  1638,  under  Minuit,  (some  time  gov- 
ernor of  the  Dutch  at  Manhattan,  and  afterwards  in  the  service  of 
Christina  of  Sweden,)  landed  near  Cape  Ilenlopen,  purchased  land 
of  the  natives,  and  built  a  fort  not  far  from  the  jjresent  site  of  Wil- 
mington. Attracted  by  tidings  of  the  mildness  and  fertility  of  New 
Sweden,  for  so  the  country  was  called,  Swedish  and  Finnish  emi- 
grants hastened  in  numbers  to  the  province.  A  new  fort  was  built 
on  an  island  below  Philadelphia.  The  claims  of  the  Dutch  were 
resisted,  and  English  adventurers  were  not  allowed  to  settle.  Tlie 
building  of  Fort  Casimir,  by  the  former  people,  and  its  treacherous 
seizure  by  Eisiiigh,  the  Swedish  governor,  have  been  described  in 
their  appropriate  place,  as  well  as  the  conquest  of  New  Sweden  by  ' 
Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  doughty  governor  of  the  New  Netherlands. 
The  Dutch  company,  i-timulated  by  aggression,  and  fearing  little 
from  the  distracted  and  feebly-governed  kingdom  of  Sweden,  had 


—  "  A  ax..  j»- 

ordered  their  officer  "to  rp 

ton  the  river,  „  c„',p„  ZtZ^^^^T^^  '^  ^  ^"'^^ 
tember,  1656,  win,  a  force  of  six  ZT^A  ^^^'^"'S>y.  in  Sep. 
up  .he  Dekwarc,  „„  a„  avowed  e™^d„f  """■  ®'"^"^""  »« 

»«.p.ra.ivel,  ,„  fo™idab,e,terfe1o^:rof  Sw  t"  ",'''"' 
national  existence  of  oulv  sevent^^r,        ^-oiouies  of  feweden,  after  a 

to  succumb.  Tiie  for'were  redul/""'  ""'  ^^^^'^^^^  --P«"«d 
sent  to  Europe,  and  the  Teraindt  o„'  t!r'T  ''  ^'^  «-edes  were 

authority  of  the  Duke  of  YorT  n  ^''""'^  ''^"^^  ""^er  the 
soon  arose.  Lord  Baltimore  th.  n  "'"'  '^'P^^^^'^S  boundaries 
clajmed  all  the  region  on  t^^'esf  sidrXhtD  f  ''"^^^°''  ^^^ 
in  Ills  grant;  and  incursions  had  been  made  f  T"'  ""  ''''^''^'^ 
the  purpose  of  repelling  settlers  from  Tl  \*^"'  P^°^"^««  ^^ 
liam  Penn,  the  ^rant  of  Pr.    .  ^^  ^''P"*«^  t^^ito^J.     Wil- 

ing  his  coa'st  luiXI-moXT  ""'TT''  '^^'^^^^  « '-^^^- 
of  the  land,")  pr;>;ured  from  hf duW  '^"  ^'^^'"  ^^  ^'^'  "^^-^^ 
twelve  miles  around  Newcrtle  and  J.  jJ^'t!  °'  ^"  *'^  ^^'^'^  '^^ 
«ea.  On  his  arrival  in  Amer'rael  (1  ^'''''"  *^^^  ^"^  ^^^ 
territory  wa«  given  to  him  by^e  d„l.«'  °  P°«««««ion  of  the 

Pennaddres8edamultitudeofhi«  n«  J  ^^^"''  ^'  '^**  *«^°.  and 
English-who  had  assembled  tj^r/"^J^'^'^--S-«^-.  ^^^^^  -nd 
all  freedom,  both  civil  and ^^1^7 1'"""''^^' ^^^'^^^''^^  ^ 
religion,  and  sobriety  of  life  '  recommending  virtue, 

and  afterwards  a  rather  acZoCCprircU fj  '^'''''^  '  ^^''^' 
respective  pretensions;  but  in  16H^  T       f      '"aintaining  their 

Lords  of  Trade  and  the  p1  tti  on  ^^dTe  t^'!?  "^"^'^  ''  ''^ 
patentees  was  fixed  by  a  oacihV  «  boundary  of  the  rival 

which  Penn  called  his'4ent^iT'^'t.  J''  ^^^^  --'ies 
«tate  of  Delawan,,  for  twenty  yel^'senftj^^d  ^  ""^''^"^  ''' 
eral  assembly  of  Pennsylvania  buLin  1Z  f"^""^'  '"  '^'  S^"" 
action  of  that  body,  prc^ured  nVr  ^  ^'  ^'«^^'«««d  with  the 

their  own;  the  p^^pS  tre ^T. ^  ^^'^  ^  ^^^'^^«^-«  «f 
«ame  governor  exercising  exeS  /u  l""^  '"  '^""^'  ""^  ^^^ 
vaniaand  Delaware.  ^^^«"*^^e  functions  over  both  Pennsyl- 

Vol.  IV.— 40 


1 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


CONQUEST  BY   THE   ENGLISH. — NICHOLS,   BERKELEY,   AND  CAR- 

lERET. — EMIGRATION   PROM   NEW   ENGLAND. — SALE  OF  WEST 

NEW   JERSEY   TO  THE  QUAKERS. — FENWICK,    BYLLINOE, 

AND   PENN. — QUAKER    SETTLEMENTS.  —  REMARKABLY 

FREE   CONSTITUTION.  —  FRIENDLY  DEALINGS  WITH 

THE     INDIANS. — USURPATION     OF     ANDROS:    ITS 

DEFEAT.  —  BAST  NEW  JERSEY. 

After  the  conquest  of  the  New  Netherlands  by  the  English,  in 
1664,  Nichols,  the  first  governor,  encouraged  the  emigration  of  his 
countrymen  from  the  adjoining  settlements  of  New  England  and 
Long  Island  into  the  regions  south  of  Manhattan ;  and  settlements 
were  made  at  Elizabethtown,  Newark,  and  other  localities.  The 
Duke  of  York,  the  patentee  of  the  whole  country,  in  the  very  year 
of  the  conquest,  assigned  to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret 
the  territories  lying  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware.  In 
compliment  to  the  latter,  who,  during  the  civil  contests  in  England, 
had  held  the  island  of  Jersey  for  the  royal  party,  the  country 
received  its  present  name. 

Philip  Carteret,  appointed  governor  by  the  new  proprietors,  came 
over  the  next  year,  and  selected  Elizabethtown  as  the  capital  of  the 
province.  By  offering  favourable  terms,  he  induced  many  to  emi- 
grate thither  from  New  England,  and  the  population  of  the  colony 
continued  to  increase.  A  question  concerning  the  titles  issued  by 
Nichols,  combined  with  other  causes  of  discontent,  in  1672,  excited 
a  popular  movement  against  the  governor,  which,  however,  was 
finally  quieted  by  concessions  from  the  proprietors. 

Berkeley,  disappointed  in  his  expectation  of  profitable  returns,  in 
1674,  for  the  inconsiderable  sum  of  a  thousand  pounds,  sold  bis 
f.hare  of  New  Jersey  to  the  Quakers,  who  were  eager  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  purchase  in  the  New  World  a  refuge  for  their  proscribed 


faith  and  persons     Thp  no  • 

trust  for  Edward  Byllinl  Xe^i  )^«^  ^^^'  '<>  John  Fenwick  in 
pute  between  these  Iwo  f^  sett "dttr'"  ^'"b— d.     A  dis- 
Penn;  and,  in  1675,  the  f^m      llthVl'  ^"^^^^^^^^^^^  o^  William 
sailed  for  the  Delaware.    At  a  Tt     J'^  ^^'"Pany  of  Friends, 
Elsingburg,  he  established  a  settWn,       S\^'  '^"^^  ^'''"^'  »«« 
George  Carteret,  the  western  ;oSof;h"'  '^-  "^"^^'"^"^  ^'^^  Sir 
called  West  New  Jersey-wriet  off  ?.^  P^«^'"«e-thenceforward 
the  new  proprietors.     Penn  and  tvT  1     T'"*"'^  ^  ^'^^  ^^^^^e  of 
of  Bvllinge,  as  trustees  fo^  h  s    redito  «".'??  "^'^  ''''  -«'g- 
one  hundred  shares,  which  they  se   unf'      7^^  '^'  '"'^"'^^  ''"« 
.ade  vigorous  efforts  to  pro^r t L  ^tttf  tht"  ^'^  ^"^^'^"^'^ 
m  1677,  a  large  number  of  emiar^n.f       .,    ^^  province;  and, 
and  settled  in  and  around  BurWon      "'^  ^  ^"'^''^'  ''^'  ^^^^ 

The  constitution,  which  iin^^,.*u  il 
;-.  was  adopted  ^helltef;':^^^^^^^^^ 
Lberal  and  democratic,  considering  the  ai  "'7'/"'?°^''"^"^^ 
conscience  and  religion:  universal  '„!.  ^^^-  Pe'-fect  freedom  of 
eligibility  ..  office;  stric't  accoun  1^  fT  '^  '^"°*=  ----^ 
constituents;  direct  election  of  justles^rr"'''^^  *°  "^'''' 
dinary  privileges  of  jury  •  non  imnW  '    I  '^'  P'^P'^''  ^^''-^or- 

tion  of  slavery;  such  w  rfth  T  r'"*  '''  '^'^^*'  ^"^  P^-^hibi- 
the  earliest  legislation  of  th  Fr  e'd" in  r^S'''  ^'^  -h-h  re.ted 
Lands  were  purchased  of  the  nl  ^'  ''^  "^  *^^  ^^^  World, 
protected  by  Jaw,  and  the  c lief  1^'  !,  ''  ''°^'^  ^^^^ ^^P^^''-"^ 
pledged  a  perpetual  league  and  frifn^r  '"  T""^'^  ''  Burlington, 
"You  are  our  brothers,"  tLysa^'^/  "'"^l'^  P'^^^^^"^  «"--« 
with  you.  We  will  have  a  brL'  i^  ""'  '''"  ^'^«  "^^^  brothers 
fan  Englishman  fulir^  eep  n  ^1.^11"/";  ^"'  "«  '^  ^'^  in. 
y.  and  say,  'He  is  an  Slilhm 'n-^f '  *'"    "^''"  '^'^'  P-«  ^i'" 

The  path  shall  be  plain    there  T,         'I       '^'  ^''  ^""  "^""^•' 
the  feet."  ^  "'"'  *'^^'^«  ^^^^  «ot  be  in  it  a  stump  to  hurt 

The  tranquiljitv  of  tliJa  Ko 
violent  interference  o  A ndlof  *?''"'"'  ^''  '^'^^  ^'^^'^'-^^'^  ^v  the 
;l^o  forcibly  exacted  cuttomTof  3^-^";'  "'^'^  ^"'^'^  «^  ^-t, 
levied  taxes  on  the  inhabitTnff  T  ^^^'"^  ''^  *^«  "«^  ^^'ony 
hand  when  resisted  On  tl^  '  '"'^  '"''"^^  '"^"^^'^  with  a  hi/h 
%  and  eloque:  y;set  f  ;th^^d"^""  ^'^'^^  ^^^P^^'  ^-^  S 
of  jurisdiction  toln  mpartial  nl  ''"''"^'^  *°  ^^«^^  '^^  -^'ter 
^'«---e.pZ::^---     %^;^thecla„^^ 


^rtiGs  of  New 


178 


TUB  PKOPLB'8  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


Jersey  were  fully  confirmed.  An  attempt  of  Byllinge,  as  propri- 
etor,  to  assume  undue  rights,  was  resisted  with  equal  Buccess,  and 
the  Quakers,  by  advice  of  Penn,  amending  their  constitution,  elected 
a  governor  for  themselves. 

In  1682,  East  New  Jersey  was  purchased  by  Penn  and  a  number 
of  others,  from  the  heirs  of  Carteret.  Robert  Barclay,  conspicuous 
for  his  defence  of  the  Quakers,  was  appointed  governor,  and  strong 
inducements  to  emigration  were  held  forth.  The  cruelties  enacted 
at  this  time  against  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland,  caused  numbers 
of  that  persecuted  people  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  for 
a  refuge  across  the  Atlantic.  Their  coming  contributed  materially 
to  the  well-being  of  the  country— industry,  endurance,  and  piety, 
being  distinguishing  traits  in  their  character;  and  the  two  Jerseys, 
not  many  years  afterwards  reunited  under  a  single  government, 
owed  much  of  their  prosperity  to  the  elements  of  virtue  in  the  per- 
secuted sects  by  which  they  were  peopled. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  PEMSYLVAIflA. 


CHAPTER   I. 


WILLIAM   PENN'   HIS   TnnTw     in.  »,„ 

SETTLEMENT  OP  NEW  JERSEY. 

nIe'TZr.:  r/  '''  f  ^-g-J^ed  admiral  of  the  same 
name,  was  born  at  London  on  the  14th  of  October,  1644     At  the 
early  age  of  fifteen,  he  was  placed  at  the  Univer  ity  of  ot  ord 
where,  being  of  a  temperament  naturally  religious  and  en  hus^^t  «' 

For  im  liea  fon  w^h  1™"^^""^-.^-^")^  P-^^-ted  sect  of  Quakers, 
i^or  implication  with  this  obnoxious  community,  and  for  resistanoe 
0  the  college  authorities,  (it  has  even  been  said  that  Penn  and  h 
nends  tore  the  surplices  of  the  students  over  their  heads  when  an 
order  for  the  wearing  of  those  garments  had  been  is^uedThe  and 
several  of  his  associates  were  exoelled      m.  fa.u  ^^    f 

choleric,  and  prejudiced,  n.:CC:Li^l^X' V^^^^^^^^^^ 
argument  from  his  eccentric  views,  turned  him  ouTof  dooTsbut 
terwards,  a  partial  reconciliation  being  effected,  suppl  ed  h  m  v^th 
the  means  for  foreign  travel,  hoping,  probably,  tLatcLgeo  scene 
and  adventure  might  dissipate  his  fantastic  noiions.     Tun  iiL  I'd 

theTaw  'at  n""l   '  T'^'t  *^  ^"^'^"^'  ^'^^  ^-^--^  thft  of 

he  law  at  Lincoln's  Inn.     Distinguished  by  purity  of  life  rather 

^an  by  asceticism  of  manner.,  he  made  a  figure  corresponding  t^th 

BkUled  in  courtly  and  even  martial  accomplishments. 
Un  coming  of  age,  he  was  dispatched  by  his  father  to  Ireland,  to 


180 


THE   PEOl'LE'S    BOOK   OF   II18T0BY. 


take  charge  of  his  estates  there,  and  falling  in  with  his  Quaker 
friend,  Loe,  at  a  meeting  in  Cork,  all  his  old  impressions  readily 
revived.  Imprisoned  for  attending  the  proscribed  assemblies,  but 
finally  released  through  the  favour  of  the  lord-lieutenant,  he  returned 
home,  where  his  father,  grieved  to  the  soul,  used  every  exertion  to 
change  his  persuasion.  The  old  admiral,  who  now  probably  began 
to  respect  the  stuff  his  sou  was  made  of,  at  last  even  offered  to  com- 
promise matters  so  far  as  to  agree  that  William  might  wear  his  hat 
any  where  except  in  presence  of  himself,  of  the  king,  and  the  king's 
brother — but  even  these  easy  terms  of  capitulation  were  refused,  and 
he  was  again  driven  from  the  paternal  roof 

He  now  became  openly  a  preacher  of  the  persecuted  sect,  which 
he  defended  in  several  publications — an  offence  for  which  he  was 
committed  to  the  Tower,  and  kept  close  prisoner  for  some  months. 
In  this,  as  well  as  his  other  difficulties,  his  judges  seem  to  have  been 
entirely  at  a  loss  for  the  motives  which  could  induce  a  youth  of 
fortune  and  family  to  connect  himself  with  a  cause  so  ignominious 
from  the  poverty,  and  so  dangerous  from  the  persecution  which 
attended  it.  Discharged  fVom  prison,  he  returned  to  Ireland,  where 
he  busied  himself  in  comforting  his  imprisoned  brethren,  and  in 
procuring  their  release.  He  was  again  committed  for  public  preach- 
ing, his  trial  creating  no  little  excitement;  but  his  father  paid  the 
fine  which  the  young  Quaker,  from  motives  of  principle,  had  reftised 
to  settle,  and  thus  procured  his  discharge.  A  complete  reconcilia- 
tion took  place,  the  brave  and  magnanimous  old  seaman  finally 
appreciating  the  traits  of  courage,  of  honour,  and  of  independence 
which  his  son  inherited,  though  displayed  in  a  field  of  action  so  dif- 
ferent from  his  own.  "Son  William,"  he  said  on  his  death-bed,  "if 
3'ou  and  your  friends  keep  to  your  plain  way  of  living  and  preach- 
ing, you  will  make  an  end  of  the  priests." 

By  the  death  of  his  father,  Penn  came  into  possession  of  an  estate 
of  fifteen  hundred  pounds  a  year,  and,  in  1672,  was  married  to  a 
woman  in  every  way  worthy  of  him — one  distinguished  by  beauty, 
intelligence,  principle,  and  sweetness  of  temper.  He  continued  to 
preach  and  to  write  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed  sect  whose  cause  he 
had  espoused;  and  the  productions  of  his  pen,  characterized  by 
simplicity,  eloquence,  and  sound  argument,  laid  a  strong  hold  on 
public  sentiment. 

His  first  action  in  regard  to  settlements  in  the  New  World,  was 
in  1676,  when,  having  served  as  arbitrator  between  Byllinge  and 


THE  8KTTLEMKNT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA.       jgl 

Fenwick,  he  became  one  of  the  trustepa  nf  fV,„  e 
Western  New  Jersey.     He  drewTp  a  Jan  ^f  ^'^^T'"'  '" 

province.     Keligious'^tolerationLal  V^^^^^^^  ^'^' 

for  debt,  were  i^  ^ain  constilutional' C^.' ZZ  foSr"' 
year,  largo  number  of  Quakers  resorted  there  from  England  an^ 
t  e  province  soon  became  a  favourite  refuge  for  that  oppreted  neo 
pie.    Penn  whose  efforts  were  still  unwearied  in  b  half  of  htCf 
fenng  brethren,   continued,  with  all  his  energy,  to  de^ii  thet 


CHAPTER   n. 


i     aimtgttXTuSf  ^^"^^-^'^^  -P--ce.  and  his  enterprise 
a  ming  at  the  foundation  of  a  commonwealth  more  free  and  perfect 
ban  any  the  world  had  yet  witnessed,  in  1680  Penn  made  ann  ica 
:on  to  the  crown  for  a  share  of  the  American  territory  theair 

gate  courtiers.     If  h.s  proscribed  opinions  were  calculated  to  retard 
I^^'d  io  Zrf  IT  ^"'  '"^*"°^^^  circumstances  were  cq       ' 

LTllmT.^  "".  '^'  P"'^  °^  *^«  ^^^•'•ed  grant.    In 

Se  na Lt    f""^  '^P'''^''^"  ^^^^^°'"«'  ^«  obtained  irom  the 

hilrilf.?"  P^7rj,^'«  modesty  prevented  any  allusion  to 

cmHy  to  command  and  sanction  this  compliment.     The  vast  tracts 

«'  T'\''"  Wropriately  titledfhe  was  to  hold  b     the 

payment  of  two  beaver-skins  yearly  to  the  crown,  and  one-fifth  of 


182 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTOHY. 


any  precious  metals  discovered  there.    Very  extensive  powers  of 
government  were  conferred  on  him  personally;  powers  of  which  he 
never  availed  himself  for  purposes  of  selfish  profit;  and  which  he 
used  or  surrendered  only  to  further  the  establishment  of  complete 
freedom,  justice,  and  toleration  over  his  vast  domain.    The  more 
effectually  to  carry  out  his  extensive  scheme,  he  now  relinquished 
the  care  of  the  affairs  of  New  Jersey,  which  province,  under  his 
judicious  management,  had  continually  improved,  both  in  increase 
and  prosperity.     His  brief  and  admirable  proclamation  to  the  colo- 
nists (Swedes  and  others),  who  had  already  settled  in  the  limits  of 
his  grant,  cannot  be  too  highly  extolled  for  its  simplicity,  directness 
and  honesty.     "My  Friends"  he  said,  "I  wish  you  all  happiness 
here  and  hereafter.    These  are  to  lett  you  to  know,  that  it  hath  pleased 
God  in  his  Providence  to  cast  you  in  my  Lott  and  Care.     It  is  a 
business,  that,  though  I  never  undertook  before,  yet  God  has  given 
me  an  understanding  of  my  duty  and  an  honest  heart  to  do  it  up- 
rightly.    I  hope  you  will  not  be  troubled  at  your  chainge  and  the 
king's  choice;  for  you  are  now  fixt,  at  the  mercy  of  no  Governour 
that  comes  to  make  his  fortune  great.     You  shall  be  governed  by 
laws  of  your  own  makeing,  and  live  a  free,  and,  if  you  will,  a  sober 
and  industreous  people.     I  shall  not  usurp  the  right  of  any,  nor 
ojipress  his  person.     God  has  furnisht  me  with  a  better  resolution, 
and  has  given  me  his  grace  to  keep  it.     In  short,  whatever  sober 
and  free  men  can  reasonably  desire  for  the  security  and  improvement 
of  tlieir  own  happiness,  I  shall  heartily  comply  with — I  beseech 
God  to  direct  you  in  the  way  of  righteousness,  and  therein  prosper 
you  and  your  children  after  you.     I  am  your  true  friend,  Wm. 
Ponii."     (April,  1H81.) 

Fresh  emigrants  were  speedily  forwarded  to  the  land  of  refuge; 
and  Penn,  with  noble  self-denial  and  thought  for  the  common  good, 
rejecled  a  great  offer  made  to  him,  by  a  private  company,  for  a 
monopoly  (very  cotnmon  at  the  time)  of  Indian  traffic.  A  system 
of  govfrnmerit  was  dovised,  to  be  submitted  to  the  approval  of  the 
settltMs  themselves;  and  by  a  grant  procured  from  the  Duke  of 
York,  the  territory  of  the  present  state  of  Delaware  was  added  to 
the  alri'ady  vast  domain  of  Petinsylvania.  With  many  of  his  friends 
and  neighbours,  of  the  proscribed  persuasion,  the  proprietor  set  sail 
for  .America;  and  after  a  tedious  voyage  and  numerous  deaths  on 
board,  on  the  27th  of  October,  16S2,  arrived  at  Newcastle. 

The  next  day,  great  numbers  of  the  original  settlers — Swedes, 


STORY. 

J  extensive  powers  of 
y\  powere  of  which  he 
profit;  and  which  he 
iblishment  of  complete 
It  domain.  The  inoro 
!,  he  now  relinquished 
h  province,  under  his 
oved,  both  in  increase 
oclamation  to  the  cole- 
settled  in  the  limits  of 
3  simplicity,  directness, 
ish  you  all  happiness, 
ow,  that  it  hath  pleased 
ott  and  Care.  It  is  a 
)re,  yet  God  has  given 
est  heart  to  do  it  up- 
b  your  chainge  and  the 
lercy  of  no  Governour 
1  shall  be  governed  by 
id,  if  you  will,  a  sober 
the  right  of  any,  nor 
ith  a  better  resolution, 
short,  whatever  sober 
jrity  and  improvement 
Tiply  with — I  beseech 
a,  and  therein  prosper 
our  true  friend,  Wm. 


to  the  land  of  refuge; 

for  the  common  good, 
rivate  company,  for  a 
ian  traffic.  A  system 
to  the  approval  of  the 
jd  fi'oin  the  Duke  of 
eliiware  was  jidded  to 
ith  many  of  his  friends 

the  proprietor  set  sail 
.  numerous  deaths  on 
it  Newcastle. 
;inal  settlers — Swedes, 


W.ll  '■IWQL-JE.tftV  W;  Atiuiu  ■  _  \..^ 


■r  H  K    T  It  K  .1  T  r    o  r   i>  f.  .v.v    iv  i  t  n    r  it  k    i  v  t>  i  a  ,v  » . 


_ 


THR  SETTLEMENT   OF   PENNSYLVANIA.  133 

Dutch,  and  EngIiBh-a««e,nbled  at  that  town ;  and  ceremoniouB  legal 
,—,on  of  Delaware  was  delivered  to  Penn  by  the  agent  of  tTo 
Duke  oi  York  llc^ommending  peace  and  nobricty  to  the  inhab  V 
antj..  the  propr.etor  joun,eyed  through  the  Hettlement*  of  his  grant 
and  viHited  hu  friends  in  the  neighbouring  provinces.  ^^ 

With  a  conacientious  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  native  inhabit- 
ante,  seldom  ev.nccd  by  European  founders  of  colonics,  he  td 
um.le  «tr.ct  provision  in  the  articles  of  emigration  and  settlement 
for  the  protection  of  the  Indians  against  either  fraud  or  violence 
Ihe  goods  employed  in  traffic  with  them,  were  to  be  rigidly  exam 
ined,  to  test  the.r  quality,  "that  the  said  Indians  might  neither  Z 
abused  nor  provoked;"  and  any  difference  between  the  two  rac^ 
was  to  be  deeded  by  a  jury  of  twelve,  half  Indians  and  half  white 

Zl'^rll    WTv  u"  ^^^^''^^^'-^  (16«3).  oc«"rred  that  memor- 
able treaty,  the  dHight  of  history,  the  favourite  theme  of  art,  and 
he  perpetual  honour  of  the  faith  and  tn-Hifulness  of  both  the  par- 
ties  concerned  111  it.  ^ 

With  a  few  of  his  Quaker  friends,  he  met  the  delegation,  itself 
numerou.s,  from  the  several  tribes  with  whom  the  new  settler^  were 
to  live  as  neighbours,  or  to  mingle  in  traffic,  or  in  the  chase.     Be- 
neath  a  spreading  elm  at  Shakamaxon,  hard  by  the  present  city  of 
Ihiladelphia-then  a  lonely  river  bank,  covered  with  pinea-in  sim- 
pie  and  truthful  words,  he  addressed  the  assembled  Algonquins 
.mpre8.s,ng  the  advantages  of  just  and  loving  dealing,  and  of  constani 
peace  and  friendship.     "I  will  not  call  you  children,"  he  said   "for 
parents  sometimes  chide  their  children  too  severely;  nor  brother 
only;  lor  brothers  differ.     The  friendship  between  me  and  yo«  I 
w.  1  not  compare  to  a  chain;  for  that  the  rains  might  rust,  or  the 
falling  tree  might  break.     We  are  the  same  as  if  one  man's  body 
were  to  be  divided  into  two  parts;  we  are  all  one  flesh  and  blood" 
In  reply,  the  chiefs  said,  "We  will  live  in  love  with  William  Penn 
and  his  children  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  shall  endure  "     Pres- 
ents were  exchanged,  and  the  wampum-belte,  in  commemoration  of 
the  event,  were  given. 

No  oath  confirmed  this  simple  treaty,  made  in  the  free  forest,  by 
the  lonely  river,  beneath  the  arching  sky,  between  the  wild  tribes 
ot  America  and  a  people  proscribed  in  civilized  Europe  as  the  ene- 
mies of  society.  No  deeds  were  signed,  no  record  of  the  compact, 
except  the  simple  wampum,  was  preserved.  But  it  was  never 
broken.     The   hands  of  the  savages   were  never  imbrued  with 


184 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


Quaker  blood;  and,  while  their  descendants  inhabited  the  same  land 
peace  and  good-will  ever  prevailed  between  them. 

"In  the  following  year,"  to  use  the  language  of  an  elegant  his- 
torian, "Penn  often  met  the  Indians  in  council  and  at  their  fes- 
tivals.  He  visited  them  in  their  cabins,  shared  the  hospitable 
banquet  of  homir7  and  roasted  acorns,  and  laughed  and  frolicked 
and  practised  athletic  games  with  the  light-hearted,  mirthful,  con- 
fiding red  men.  He  spoke  to  them  of  religion,  and  found  that  the 
tawny  skin  did  not  exclude  the  instinct  of  a  Deity.  '  The  poor  sav- 
age people  believed  in  God  and  the  soul  without  the  aid  of  meta- 
physics.' He  touched  the  secret  springs  of  sympathy,  and  succeeding 
generations  on  the  Susquehannah  acknowledged  his  loveliness." 


CHAPTT^T^    TTT 
(LiL   wit   X     <L    tlli   Jib      XXX* 

LIBERAL  LEGISLATION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA. — PBNN  POUNDS 

PHILADKLPHIA:   ITS   RAPID  INCREASE.  —  FORMATION  OP  A 

CONSTITUTION. — GREAT  EMIGRATION  PROM  EUROPE. — 

GROWTH  OP  THE   PROVINCE. — PENN    RETURNS 

TO  ENGLAND. — HIS  SUBSEQUENT  CAREER. 

A  POPULAR  convention,  assembled  at  Chester,  in  December,  1682 
was  entrusted  with  the  settlement  of  the  government.  Under  the 
just  and  liberal  spirit  of  the  proscribed  society  of  Friends,  extraor- 
dinary improvements  in  legislation  appeared.  Primogeniture  was 
abolished,  and  equal  suffrage  was  secured  to  all  tax-payers.  No  tax 
could  be  levied  except  by  force  of  law.  Murder  alone,  at  a  time 
when  capital  offences,  on  the  English  statute-books,  were  almost 
without  number,  was  to  be  punished  by  death.  The  punishment 
for  other  offences  was  mild  and  reasonable.  The  original  settlers- 
Swedes,  Finns,  and  Dutch — were  assured  of  the  same  rights  as  Eng- 
lishmen. The  benevolent  proprietor,  rejoicing  in  his  success  in 
founding  a  free  community,  and  amply  repaid  for  his  sacrifices  and 
exertions  by  the  gratitude  of  his  people,  concluded  the  work  of 
legislation,  as  usual,  with  words  of  religious  counsel  and  exhortation. 

In  the  first  months  of  1683,  he  selected  for  the  site  of  his  capital 
that  admirable  location,  close  by  the  scene  of  his  treaty,  lying  be- 


«d  the  same  land. 


TH.  SETTLEMENT  OK  PEN  NS  VL  V  ANI  A.  jg^ 

tween  the  Schuylkill  and  the  Delaware    TT«.  v   i  -j 

the  citj  of  Philadelphia-a  citvlhToh  ^"'^^  ^^  l^'^^  °^t  and  founded 

a  rapidity  and  profperity  unpLede^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^'^^«"^«  ^^^^ 

rivalling  the  Aladdin' ike^struEsTnlrl*^'  ^'^'  """^  ^''"°«' 
seem  the  growth  of  a  nighl>-th  CkVelrf "  ''^^°"^  ^^'^^ 
of  that  year,  it  consisted  of  but  three  or  f  ""'"*•     ^°  ^»g"«' 

years  it  contained  «ix  hundred  hoJI  ""'^"-     ^'*^^»  *-« 

Immediately  after  its  selection,  indeed,  (March  lfi«<?^ . 
was  assembled  there  for  the  purpose  of  fnl       '         ^*  convention 
that  instrument  it  was  proviSw  •'?^  ^  constitution.    By 

be  elected  by  the  people,  th  first  fo  1?""'  '°^  """^^^  ^'^^"^^ 
one.  The  initiative  of  i;;?rretfe^^^^^^^^^^^  "'  *'^  ^^"^^  ^^r 
cil,  and  their  ratification  depended  on  the  17''.""'  "°^  °°""- 

senting  the  action  of  the   Lople     ThS  "'^^^'  ^'''''^^  ''^'^ 

negative  voice  on  the  action  onh'ecounci  ThT'  T  '"'^^^  * 
charter,  so  unexpectedly  liberal  with  ,^of-*  /    ^f  ^    received  the 

the  former  of  these  feeLgs  alwl  \forM  ?"'  f  "'*^^-'^'  ^ut 
was,  not  long  after,  merged  in  ZV^'^  ^''^  communities, 
more  complete  form  ofTmocracy        °"  '""'  *^  '^''^''^^  -«"» 

When  the  tidings  of  this  impvo^v.!  j 
tbe  part  of  the  prVieto^:: Stro'^^^^  ^"'  ^^^^^^  ^^ 

the  persecuted,  from  the  British  islcrfrl ^.7  r*  7'"'""^  °^ 
many,  flocked  across  the  seas  to  share  in  tlhf"'  ""^  ^'°™  ^«'- 
the  forethought  and  ma^nanimi  !  of  !  ^'''"^'  ^'^^^^^^  ^y 
growth  of  Philadelphia  has^rf  ml  io'e"/^^  'Zt  J^  ^^T 
provmce  was  on  a  corresponding  scale    nnf.     ir  ^^  "^^"^^^ 

increase  of  New  England      "  I  mus  titht  J     '"^  ^^^'^  ^^^  ^apid 
Penn,  with  just  pride,  "IhaveleThV       7    '^^"''^'  '"^'"  ^^'"^^ 
that  ever  any  man  dii  upon  a  mtatt  ^Z      '  f  "^^  '"^^  ^"'^^'^'^ 
ous  beginnings  that  ever Cre  if"ra^Tot 'f"V''  ""*  P'^^"' 
humane  and  glorious  mission  in   he  Ne^^W^^^^^^  ^"^-^,--"    Hia 
executive  power  entrusted  to  a  commas  I Tf        ^^^^'"P  i«hcd,  the 
erous  founder  of  Pennsylvania  tookll    ?       f  '''""''''  *^"  ^«"- 
who  owed  him  so  dee/a  deU  of  gr    itudT    'le  T  ''  ''^  f^^^ 
and  pious  counsel  mingled  in  hi.  lT«       ^         '^''  '^^^'^brance 
yoV  he  said,  "cared  fver  vou    a  ^  """"^I-     "^  ^^^«  b^«"  ^'^h 
Jove;  and  yoJ  are  beloved  of  ^e  and  r''''  ^'"'  ^^'^  ""^^'^ned 
*     *     You  are  come  to  a  quiet  L 7  ^  Tu  ^^^^"'  ""«-"««• 
are  in  your  own  hands.    R  leforffij  "r^j  '"1''"^^  ^"^  ^^^^-itj 
«^orld  will  one  day  esteem  it  anl^  "^^""^  *^^  ?""«««  °f  this 

y  esteem  it  an  honour  to  govern  in  their  places  " 


186 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


Eeturned  to  England,  (1684,)  Penn  employed  his  fortune,  hisinflu- 
ence,  his  eloquence,  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed.  Thanks  to  his 
name,  his  successful  enterprise,  and  the  respect  which  high  integrity 
will  ever  command,  his  voice  at  court  was  potential.  At  his  inter- 
cession, many  hundreds  of  his  unfortunate  brethren  were  released 
from  the  prisons  in  which  they  had  been  so  long  immured.  The 
eagerness  of  the  new  sovereign  (James  II.)  to  secure  immunity  for 
his  fellow-communicants,  the  Catholics,  led  him  to  listen  favourably 
to  applications  in  behalf  of  other  dissenters  from  the  Establishment. 
Penn,  in  advance  of  all  who  sought  either  exclusive  supremacy  or 
mere  toleration  for  their  respective  creeds,  boldly  contended  for 
unlimited  freedom  of  conscience,  and  won  immortal  honour  by  the 
wisdom,  the  logic,  and  the  eloquence  with  which  tis  writings  in 
behalf  of  that  grand  object  continually  abound. 

The  first  fruit  of  his  generous  concessions  to  the  colonists,  was 
the  display  of  a  rather  turbulent  spirit  of  freedom.  His  legislators, 
new  to  their  business,  soon  became  involved  in  quarrels  with  the 
executive,  and  evinced  much  jealousy  even  of  the  limited  share  of 
power  and  profit  which  the  single-minded  proprietor  had  reserved 
as  his  own.  "The  maker  of  the  first  Pennsylvania  almanac  was 
censured  for  publishing  Penn  as  a  lord.  The  assembly  originated 
bills  without  scruple ;  they  attempted  a  new  organization  of  the 
judiciary;  they  alarmed  the  merchants  by  their  lenity  towards 
debtors;  they  would  vote  no  taxes;  they  claimed  the  right  of  in- 
specting the  records,  and  displacing  the  officers  of  the  courts;  they 
expelled  a  member  who  reminded  them  of  their  contravening  the 
provisions  of  their  charter."  These  tokens  of  ingratitude,  leading, 
indeed,  to  no  disastrous  results,  must  have  borne  somewhat  heavily 
on  the  heart  of  the  benefactor  of  the  province — that  benefactor,  who, 
having  expended  his  estate  in  delivering  the  oppressed  and  found- 
ing a  nation,  and  having  relinquished  in  favour  of  his  people  the  vast 
profits  which  avarice,  or  even  common  custom  might  have  grasped, 
found  himself,  in  old  age,  confined  for  debt  within  the  rules  of  the 
Fleet  prison.  But  a  steadfast  hope  and  a  serene  conscience,  the 
prompters  and  supporters  of  his  noble  career,  were  equally  his  con- 
Bolers  under  its  unprosperous  personal  termination.  Ills  fame, 
emerging  from  the  clouds  of  envy  and  detraction,  shines,  century 
after  century,  witli  a  purer  and  more  steady  ray.  Ills  memory 
•will  ever  be  cherished  by  mankind  as  that  of  one  of  the  wisest, 
worthiest,  and  least  selfish  of  their  race. 


STORY. 


THE  ffORTHERI  COLONIES, 


CONTINUED. 


.       CHAPTER   I. 

SIR  EDMUND  ANDROS  COMMISSIONED  BY   THE  DUKK  np  vn.. 

\":r/s^ro7;^v"^^"""«^^^"-"'™ 

OENERAT         „  °  ''  APPOINTED   GOVERNOR- 

GENERA  L,— OPPRESSION   IN   THE  COLONIES— PPn 
CEEDINGS  .GAINST  CONNECTICUT  AND  rL    e    SLAND 

TATIONr;^'''    ''  CONNECTICUT.-PRESER 

FATION  OP  THE  CHARTER.— THE  NORTHERN 

PROVINCES  PORCKD  TO  SUBMISSION.-D0IN03 

IN  NEW  ENGLAND  UPON  THE  OCCURRENCE 

OP   THE  REVOLUTION   OF  1688. 

w,  D,^e  Of  vt  ;r:rz;^,':r^t.'i:r? 

former  rights  of  proprietorship  were  secured  to  t         V    ?     ^" 
governmental  powers.     He  chos^fi  T  J"™' ^'^^  enlarged 


188 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTOBY. 


patent  of  the  duke  certainly  covered  this  district,  and  extended 
eastward  as  far  as  the  Kennebec.  The  year  after  his  appointment, 
the  governor,  with  several  armed  vessels,  made  a  demonstration 
upon  the  fort  at  Saybrook,  but  such  was  the  aspect  of  determination 
on  the  part  of  the  colonial  militia,  and  such  the  tone  of  a  protest 
forwarded  by  the  assembly  then  in  session  at  Hartford,  that  he  judged 
it  prudent  to  withdraw. 

At  a  later  period,  after  the  accession  of  James  II.  to  the  throne  of 
England,  the  policy  of  uniting  the  New  England  colonies,  and  sub- 
jecting them  to  the  sway  of  the  royal  governor,  was  more  energet- 
ically pursued.  Andros  was  superseded,  in  1683,  by  Colonel  Thomas 
Dongan,  a  man  of  more  enlarged  views,  and  generally  far  more 
acceptable  to  the  colonists  than  his  predecessor.  During  the  three 
years  of  this  administration,  the  principal  events  of  political  interest 
are  connected  with  the  history  of  that  powerful  aboriginal  cofifed- 
eracy,  known  as  the  Six  Nations. 

Upon  the  demise  of  the  crown,  in  1685,  the  new  monarch,  with 
characteristic  tyranny  and  short-sightedness,  determined  on  push- 
ing forward  his  scheme  for  a  union  of  the  provinces.  The  charter 
of  Massachusetts  was  annulled  by  legal  process  in  the  English 
courts.  New  Hampshire  having  been  previously  separated  from  that 
colony,  and  constituted  a  royal  province,  in  opposition  to  the  wishes 
of  its  inhabitants.  Writs  of  Quo  Warranto  were  also  issued  ngainst 
the  authorities  of  Connecticut  and  Ehode  Island,  requiring  them  to 
appear  and  show  by  "  what  warrant "  they  exercised  powers  of  gov- 
ernment. Joseph  Dudley,  a  native  of  the  country,  was  temporarily 
placed  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  the  eastern  coh)nies,  but  was  super- 
seded at  the  close  of  the  year  1686  by  Andros,  now  Sir  Edmund, 
who  came  out  as  Governor-General  of  New  England,  and  in  whom, 
assisted  by  a  royal  council,  were  vested  all  powers,  legislative  and 
executive.  He  brougut  with  him  a  small  body  of  regular  troops, 
then,  for  the  first  time,  quartered  upon  the  New  England  colonies. 

Andros  is  spoken  of  as  a  man  of  undoubted  abilities  and  attain- 
ments; and  he  appears  to  have  possessed  a  spirit  of  military  pride 
which  led  him  to  respect  an  open  and  bold  opposition.  The  prin- 
cipal acts  of  tyranny  which  rendered  his  administration  unpopular, 
were  in  direct  accordance  with  instructions  from  the  English  court. 
Power,  such  as  his,  can  safely  be  entrusted  with  no  man. 

Among  other  grievances,  the  liberty  of  the  press  was  abolished, 
and  the  unpopular  Edward  Randolph,  who  had  previously  been 


_J' 


r 


THE  HOETIIERN   COLONIES. 


lations  were  invaded  or  outra«ed  In  M  T''  ^^  ^""°"«  '^S^' 
required  to  be  celebraterb^a   ierL^^^^  -- 

to  the  great  disgust  and  inconveSe  of  the  n  ^^'^^'^  ^^"'^^' 
Act  of  Toleration,  by  which  dZlZ  PoP^^at'on.     Even  the 

former  disabilitie  ,  lltoked  nnT  -^.^'""'^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^"^ 
one  step  tak.n  b;  a  Catholt  ""P^^^'*^  «"«P'«i««.  ^  being  but 
n^cnto 'his  own  church  "'^  *'""'^^  the  final  establish- 

An  assessment  of  taxpu  Ku  fk« 
™t  by  a  genera,  «S„d'^  iriuuher ""'  ""  "*  *"' 
and  oWnate  defaulter  were  punSw'  t  ZZr'"'"',' 
imprisonment.  A  favourite  and  m^of  j  seventy  by  fines  and 
tion,  was  the  irnpeZZZZ,7V'"fT^''^''^''^^^'^^'- 
grants  from  towns'or  f^T  hf  11" /'  "li'^^'  ""'^^  *^«  «^^ 
were  exacted  from  those  who  ;erthLTotn^^;^^^^  "^"°"^  '^^« 
patents  from  the  royal  officials  ^^'"PeHed  to  procure  new 

Legal  process  against  the  eovernmpnt^  nf  p 
Island  had  been  stayed  ^J^T""'^"*' ^^Connecticut  and  Rhode 

king,  which  had  bee?construed  ,t     r""""'""  "^  "^^'"^"^^^  *<>  the 
but  the  charter  of  thereTrfviC^^^^ 

dered.  In  January  of  lesrTr  F^n!  T  '"  ^''^^'^  «""•««• 
Rhode  Island,  and  put  an  en^o  .7^  -^  •"^'^'^'^  '"^  P«^««°  to 
destroyed  the  public!]  and  V  .  """'"''"^  government.  He 
listed  the  royalCor I  rel!  .':;l":'""^  °PP°^'*^°"'  -*-b- 
The  General  A^mb  v'  r  n  ^  '"*'^  V  himself  and  his  creatures, 
.onth  of  Oc::b"r„  .^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  --  ^-^^g  the 

^::trti^;^:^-f~ 

least  preserved,  although  rendered  for  fl^Tr  u'^""^  """^  ^* 
The  lights  wer;  extinguished  a^d'  I  tt  Tt  ^""^'  f  "°  ^^««*- 
which  ensued,  Captain  Wadswol  of  H  ^rT  '"^  '°"^'^^°'^ 
charter,  and,  making  his  way  out  o^  th'  n'  "'^^^  "P^'^  the 

i-ting...:-i;^;--- 


190 


THK  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTOKY. 


aboriginal  forest  now  standing  in  the  thickly -settled  portions  of  New 
England,)  and  from  the  great  size  of  its  gnarled  and  picturesque 
trunk,  than  from  its  association  with  the  incident  above  related. 
The  original  charter  is  still  preserved  at  the  secretary's  office,  in 
Hartford. 

Andros  met  with  no  further  opposition,  and  all  New  England, 
with  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  finally  submitted  to  his  dictation. 
He  maintained  his  position  until  the  revolution  of  1688,  by  which 
William  and  Mary  gained  possession  of  the  throne  of  England.  An 
unprofitable  eastern  expedition  against  the  French  and  Indians, 
under  the  Baron  of  St.  Castine,  was  among  the  most  noticeable 
events  of  the  latter  portion  of  his  administration. 

Upon  receipt  of  the  first  definite  intelligence  of  the  revolution, 
the  people  of  Boston  rose  in  mass.  Andros,  his  Secretary  Ran- 
dolph, and  other  officials,  were  seized  and  thrown  into  prison.  The 
venerable  Simon  Bradstreet,  former  governor  of  the  colony,  waa  put 
at  the  head  of  a  provisional  government. 

The  whole  of  New  England  followed  the  example  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  were  reorganized  under 
their  violated  charters,  and  all  the  other  colonies,  in  resuming  their 
old  forms  of  government,  rejoiced  over  the  forced  abdication  of  the 
king,  and  the  establishment  of  a  Protestant  succession. 

Andros  was  sent  to  England,  and  the  various  charges  against 
him  were  examined  by  William  and  his  council.  It  appeared,  how- 
ever, that  he  had  in  no  material  instance  exceeded  the  powers 
expressly  bestowed  upon  him,  and  the  complaints  were  dismissed. 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  received  the  royal  confirmation  of 
their  old  charters;  but  Massachusetts  was  less  fortunate,  having  made 
defence  in  the  proceedings  under  the  quo  warranto,  to  final  judg- 
ment, which,  it  was  decided,  could  only  be  reversed  on  writ  of  error. 


ttled  portions  of  New 

rled  and  picturesque 

jident  above  related. 

secretary's  office,  in 

id  all  New  England, 
lilted  to  his  dictation. 
>n  of  1688,  by  which 
one  of  England.  An 
French  and  Indians, 
the  most  noticeable 
n. 

ce  of  the  revolution, 
I  hia  Secretary  Ran- 
wn  into  prison.  The 
>f  the  colony,  was  put 

I  example  of  Maasa- 
re  reorganized  under 
es,  in  resuming  their 
•ced  abdication  of  the 
jcession. 

'ioua  charges  against 
il.  It  appeared,  how- 
ixceeded  the  powers 
aints  were  dismissed. 
royal  confirmation  of 
)rtunate,  having  made 
irranto,  to  final  judg- 
ersed  on  writ  of  error. 


nit.  r.  1,1  M   pf'.jv.v, 

'""      '"""-'■=■■      OP      PEKKsvr.VA,,,A. 
BORN  AT  LONDO.V,  OCTYIBPH  i.    .....      , 


DIED  JULY  3(\  171& 


( 
c 

I 

n 
tl 

C( 


THE   NOKTHEKN   COLONIC 


CHAP  TEH   II, 


CAPTAIN 


KIDD,    THE    PIRATE. 


In  New  York,  the  first  news  of  thp  Vn„r  i, 
great  confusion  and  terror     VaLo  rZ    .^f    ''^^^'''^°"  ^^^^^^d 
the  part  of  the  Catholics  excitid  the  ITT       'T^'^  ^"*^^g««  °» 
.entwhich  proved  fatal  to  it^le'dr't:^^^^ 
,    militia,  and  a  Dutch  merchant  of  wenTtl,     T  ''■  ^  ""?**'"  ^^ 

vailed  upon  to  take  command  of  a  b  1  of     ^"^^^*^^^"*^.  --  P- 
upon  the  fort.     The  lieutenanf  1       ^  /  °«urgents,  and  to  seize 
I    M  the  country,  and^Sl  ^t^ hS  o't^J  ^^^  ^^^^o^-. 
i    a^urned  the  administration  of  goveTntent    ,.r™'"''''^^'^*^ '" 
j    regular  municipal  authorities     Thpl/      ?i        opposition  to  the 
and  Mary  having  arriv  d  he  J,l"'^^°^  *^«  ^«««««ion  of  William 
to  the  new  sovertigns,  a:d  dt;i'atir:tr  °"  1 ''''''' 
account  of  his  proceedings,  w  th  a  del  1  of  M  '  ''"'^'""^  '''' 

rendered  such  action  netsary  or  et  df  nt     TT  "'"\'^' 
August,  Milbourne,  a  son-in-law  of  TpI?  "  *^^  '"^"*^  ^^ 

and  received  the  appointment  o/~^^ 
government.     The  member.,  ^f  n      fj^*'''^^  ^3^  ^^e  self  constituted 

Albany,  there  pl^ciredThd      Ten^  edTdh  "'  '"'"°  r^''''  '^ 
cession,  and  theh-  denunciation  of  I      I  ^^.^^erence  to  the  new  suc- 

ofAlbany,inconvrio     iTermitYlf^r'^f^''-     ^'^  ^^'^'^ 
by  the  crown,  and   havin™f      f        7'"'*  ^  ^""'^^  appointment 


I 


192 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


the  peace,  and  administering  the  laws,"  &c.  Leialer  adopted  this 
as  his  own  warrant  for  the  exercise  of  the  powers  he  had  assumed. 
Insecure  in  his  position,  and  opposed  by  a  powerful  party,  the 
governor  was  unable — some  say  incompetent — to  make  necessary 
jiropnrations  for  the  protection  of  the  northern  frontier.  War  existed 
between  England  and  France,  and  parties  of  French  and  Indians, 
sent  out  by  Frontenac,  the  Canadian  governor,  ravaged  the  country 
In  an  attack  upon  Schenectady,  some  sixty  of  the  inhabitants  were 
slain,  twenty-five  were  carried  into  captivity,  and  many  who  escaped 
suffered  every  extremity  from  exposure  during  their  flight  towards 
Albany.  An  expedition  against  Canada,  undertaken  by  New  York, 
Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts,  from  want  of  timely  cooperation 
between  the  different  parties,  proved  a  complete  failure. 

Leisler  succeeded  in  silencing  the  o[icn  opposition  at  Albany, 
but  his  supremacy  was  destined  to  bo  of  short  duration.  Henry 
Sloughter,  with  a  commission  from  the  (Town,  came  out  as  gov- 
ernor in  March,  1691.  A  certain  Captain  Ingoldsby  had  landed  at 
New  York  with  troops  three  months  previous,  had  announced  this 
appointment,  and  claimed  possession  of  the  fort.  Leisler  refused  to 
surrender  the  place,  and,  on  the  arrival  of  Sloughter,  by  order  of 
that  official,  was  arrested,  together  with  Milbourne,  and  several 
members  of  his  council. 

The  first  stops  taken  by  the  governor,  were  to  appoint  a  special 
court  for  tlie  trial  of  the  prisoners,  and  to  issue  warrants  for  an 
assembly,  or  council,  to  assist  him  in  the  administration.  The  result 
was  what  might  be  expected  from  the  character  of  Sloughter,  and 
the  arbitrary  nature  of  the  proceedings.  The  accused  were  convicted 
of  high-trenson,  and  sentenced  to  death.  The  council  concurred 
with  the  sontonce,  and  the  governor,  at  first  hesitating  to  push  mat- 
ters to  such  an  extremity,  finally  signed  the  death-warrants  of  Leisler 
and  Milbourne.  It  has  been  said  that  his  assent  was  obtained  dur- 
ing a  fit  of  intoxication.  The  victims  perished  on  the  gallows,  in 
the  month  of  May  (1691).  They  met  their  fate  with  a  composure 
and  in  a  Christian  spirit  which  must  have  enlisted  general  synipatliy. 
Their  heirs  afterwards  received  their  estates,  the  attainder  being 
reversed,  and  the  vain  ceremonial  of  funeral  honours  was  performed 
over  the  bodies  of  the  unfortunate  governor  and  his  secretary. 

Colonel  Fletcher  succeeded  Sloughter  in  1692,  the  latter  having 
died  suddenly,  afler  holding  ofiice  about  four  months.  He  was 
commissioned  by  the  crown  as  commander  of  the  militia  of  New 


II5B 


THE   NORTHERN   COLONIES. 

Jersey  and  Connecticut,  and  in  thn  F,.u     ■ 

Hartford  for  the  purpose  of  enfo  cini  r'"^,-^'"'  ^'"«^'«^^^^  '^ 
Connecticut  authoWtie;  refused  to  «2  .  T''""'"^  ^'"•'"«-  ^he 
oppcd  to  privilege.  .e^rSlo  ^J^^r^;  X^r'V^  ^ein, 
panics  were  afisembled,  but  when  Fl«Ji  ^ "*'/•  ^^"^  militia  com- 
his  commission,  Captain  WilL^W  twlhlr'  ^'^  "^^'"«  «^ 
caused  the  drums  to  be  beat  and   „^  r  ^  ^'  ^'""'^'P"^  ^^^^^^, 

threat,  "that  he  would  make  Sav']S"f  "^'^  ""^^"^«  '^  P— 'i 
awed  the  colonel,  that  he  deltecfS  .t  '  ''^'""^^  '^"'"•"  ««  «ver- 
and  the  next  da;  set  out  t  S "  ""'"''  "^  ^^'^  ^°"^'"-'^' 

Fletcher  held  office  until  1698      Up  La         u 
the  assembly  respecting  laws  for'the    ettWof '7*'°''"^  "'*^ 
vouring  the  English  Church  he  wT«     "'^^  '^'^'-SJ^n^n.     Fa- 

:    house,  after  providin.for  the  «n       !  ^''"'^^  «^a«Perated  when  the 
i    bythdr  parLione?  Ifed  to'rdT"*°'""'^'^^«^°beelec^ 

northern  colonies,  (with  thn  Pvn.  *       '"/j^^«.  «^  governor  of  the 
Island,)  was  a  man  of  nob  «, 7''^^'^  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode 

0"t  f  is  three  yea.'  J:^Z!r:::^Z^r^  ^^^f " 
people.  It  was  at  this  time  that  .^^^^  f^^"^^  satisfaction  to  the 
tained  a  commission  from  the  cl  T^"^"'  ^'P*'-^'"  ^idd  ob- 
"hich  the  seas  were  infeTted  H«  I  "" ^  ^'^"  P'^^^^'  ^'^^ 
Bellaniont  and  others  Tor  thh  n.  ^'"^-  ^J"''*^"^  ^'^'^  ^  ^^«««'  by 
t-ures  might  be  r'ct  er  bvT'  '*^'"^«"PP°-d  that  grea^ 
by  ferreting  !ut  their  places  of ''tret  '^C^  f "  °"^'"^'^'  ^^ 
subsequent  piratical  exploits  his  aud'in  '^  "^  ^''^'^'  ^''' 

capture,andexecution,  m?n  'led  wi  r  r  '?^^^^^  '"  '^"^"''  ^'^ 

accounts  of  adventure  hale  ev-  ^^  ^  t"''"^ '^"^°'''^^°^ 
rude  nautical  songs  a^d  IL  ^h  "  ^Tr  ''""""^  ^'^^'"^^  ^- 
was  supposed  to^have  buried  ha!  ^  f«^^'•«--es  which  he 
present  day  '  ^^'  ^""'^  continued  even  to  the 


^t. 


^g^  THE  PKOPLE'8  BOOK  07  UIBTOKT. 

CHAPTER   III. 

NEW    CnARTKR    0?    M  ASS  ACHU9KTTS. — TRIALS    FOR    WITCH- 
CRAFT  IN   SALEM.  —  FIRST    EXECUTION.  —  PARRIS  AND  Hig 
FAMILY. — COURT  OF   EXAMINATION   AT  8ALBM. — COTTON 
MATHER. — ARRIVAL     OF     PHIPP8. — NUMEROUS     EXE- 
CUTIONS.—  CONFESSIONS. — CRUEL TIKS   INFLICTED. 
— CHANGE    IN    PUBLIC    Ol'INION 

In  Massachusetts,  after  the  Revolution,  n  regular  government  was 
established  under  a  new  charter,  brought  out  by  Sir  William  Phipps, 
in  1692,  which  included  undiu  oul  government  with  that  province 
the  colony  of  Plymouth,  and  the  partially  conquered  wilderness 
eastward  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

This  year  is  memorable  in  the  history  of  New  England,  as  the 
period  when  a  fatal  delusion,  a  superstitious  terror,  and  a  bloody 
fanaticism,  resulted  in  acts  which  reflected  an  indelible  disgrace  upon 
the  eastern  colonies.  We  cannot,  perhaps,  at  this  date,  arrive  at 
satisfactory  conclusions  respecting  the  reputed  witchcraft  at  Salem, 
Within  the  last  few  years  a  belief  in  manifestations  as  strange,  and 
as  apparently  supernatural  as  those  recorded  by  Mather  and  other 
early  historians,  has  been  steadily  gaining  ground:  it  numbers 
among  its  converts  men  of  every  condition,  and  of  every  variety  of 
intellectual  culture  and  endowment;  and  were  the  same  interpreta- 
tion, as  in  the  seventeenth  century,  put  upon  the  experiments 
whereby  the  phenomena  are  developed  now,  and  were  the  same 
necessity  felt  for  literal  obedience  to  the  Hebrew  law,  scenes  more 
horrible  than  those  we  are  now  about  to  record,  would  be  renewed 
in  our  midst. 

We  cannot,  however,  give  the  actors  in  those  disgraceful  pro- 
ceedings r'-odit  for  entire  honesty  and  sincerity.  Even  granting 
that  a  fouiio.ui.Jii  for  suspicion  and  accus;it,ion  was  laid  by  the  occur- 
rence of  e^'OntH  fco  -naccount  W,  that,  in  that  age,  reference  to  the 
devil  ai.u  ...o  familiars  as  their  originators  was  but  a  natural  ex- 
planation of  the  mystery,  we  can  discover  too  much  evidence  of 
private  malice,  of  duplicity,  and  misrepresentation,  to  allow  of  much 
room  for  charity  towards  those  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  per- 
secutions, or  those  who  endeavoured  to  justify  or  gloss  over 
their  crimes. 


THE   NOKTHKRN    COLONIES. 


196 


Tlie  flrst  prowoutionB  for  witchcraft  tn„t  .,i 
viou«  to  the  time  of  whieh  w,  »!  ' t^  "'"■''"'  ^'~»"'  P™" 

■hew.  a  c«tho,:.h.  .po^ri^s:  x^r^rirr'.'"' 

.n.wer>  were  «,:,  interpreted  »gai„„  her  '  "  '"■°'"'" 

s.i..n  A  d«;.«hr:v:*:^Tthl,t::tf'':hr  "''*'"°' 

ively  of  about  nine  and  iw„lv,.  i  1    '  "«''  ""PW- 

vIsLb,  and  eomplaVof  pi  "7,  ""''*''"'"'  """"8°  «""■ 
.ho  faoulty.    Thev  wor„ror      ""'' *"™<""»  "■■explainable  by 

flo.60db/her„lrLtoCnir„.trh"'  t  ^'"■"'  "' 
Without  undertaking  .„  reason  l^ontteele"?  b'^u'''^'*' '^• 
10  what  extent  some  stranm  »v™„  ,    .  ""'  P'ie"i"nena, 

1..S  fro.  time  to  timfb Z  oCv  St  ^"'^'^'"•^  ^« 

vailed,  how  far  men  in  th^ir  «  >  ''S^'^'  '""^^^  ^'^^e  Pre- 

dupes'of  artful   d  i  d  en    o    whtr  "n"  "'^  ''^'^  '"^'^ '^« 
manifestations  may  have  talced  nil  '  ^"^««ountablo   physical 

they  actually  occurred  ^     ''  ""^  '"''  ^'^^•^  ^'^^  ^^e  facts  as 

those  of  goo'd  standing  alVrep    1  T„d       '''''  ^"^  ^«'P^-  *« 

excited,  which  Anally^orLdTs  own  !"  «  '  m"'"'''  P""  ""^ 
court  w;is  convened  at  Salpm  /       ^  Meantime,  a  special 

-h  of  April,  a:d  I'tti^fZ^rirrir '" '■■' 

were  personally  confronted  ^»iih  *u  •  ''"'"'"^"««'^.  ihe  accusers 
•dded-to  their  L  J^Jl  ^  a;:^S'to'°tr"'°-'V"1 
..■d  exced  eourt,  diree.  and  eonvineing  Sti         '  '""""'' 

..w:,:ri"^rn:^:tier„:t^^^^^^^ 

*e«di„bo,ieJsit:,tt:„  rwa'^'rx '°  *«  -"'^  "f 

and  hi,,  excessive  self-esteem  ,'h;^\  ''°«"'"'°  ""nacy, 

'«  having  been  deSved     T:  t,       H""  ™''' '"'  ""W  ""f=i 

ji..bs»r'di.ie,  wHro.  ■Itr;^f,it7t';:;:''"° "  '-r « 

tion  at  his  crueltv  h,Vnfr„      T-      ,'"S^  ^^  "'«  strongest  indigna- 

-riousiy  fatL  furrm'arsr:h„.t"  "''°*"^ "'  ■■» 

'-»,  .he  things  which  he  ^^^^^LXIZ'^:  ^^'^ 


196 


THE    PEOPLK'S    KOOK    OF    HISTORY. 


observation,  for  he  could  scarcely  appear  in  a  more  unamiable  light 
than  that  in  which  he  is  exhibited  upon  his  own  testimony. 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  (May  14th)  Governor  Phippa 
arrived,  and  assumed  his  oflftce.  He  entered  at  once  into  the  spirit 
of  persecution,  and  ordered  into  irons  the  unfortunates  with  whom 
the  jails  were  crowded. 

Several  sessions  of  the  special  court  were  held  during  the  summer, 
and  by  the  close  of  September  no  less  than  twenty  persons,  of  various 
ages  and  of  both  sexes,  had  perished  on  the  gallows  as  witches  or  ne- 
cromancers. Among  the  most  noted  of  these,  was  George  Burroughs 
formerly  minister  at  Salem,  and  a  rival  of  his  successor,  the  infamous 
Parris.  His  demeanour  on  the  scaffold  was  so  strongly  indicative  of 
innocence,  and  such  was  the  eiFect  produced  by  his  prayers  and 
dying  address,  that  it  is  said  that  the  execution  might  have  been  pre- 
vented by  the  spectators  if  Cotton  Mather  had  not  made  his  way 
through  the  throng  on  horseback,  and  exerted  his  usual  influence 
over  the  people,  by  vituperation  against  the  victim  of  superstition. 
The  principal  point  made  against  Burroughs,  was  his  denial  of  the 
reality  of  the  supposed  witchcraft.  So  strong,  indeed,  was  the  pop- 
ular prejudice,  that  those  only  of  the  accused  could  hope  for  favour 
or  safety  who  were  willing  to  minister  to  it  by  confessions  and  self- 
accusations.  ^ 

The  wildest  absurdities  respecting  diabolical  witch-meetings  and 
incantations  thus  received  corroboration.  There  was  no  difficulty  in 
finding  evidence  against  those  who  refused  to  confess,  provided  they 
had  come,  from  any  cause,  to  be  in  bad  odour,  or  had  personal  enemies, 
The  trials,  as  far  as  any  form  of  law  or  rules  of  evidence  are  concerned, 
were  the  merest  mockery;  for  whatever  contradictions  in  testi- 
mony might  occur,  they  were  easily  explained  by  the  hypothesis 
that  this  was  only  an  attempt  by  the  devil  to  bewilder  the  witness 
by  taking  away  his  memory,  or  by  making  further  false  impressions. 
In  various  instances,  direct  and  cruel  bodily  torture  was  resorted  to, 
in  order  to  extort  confession.  One  old  man  of  eighty  or  ninety, 
named  Giles  Cory,  refused  to  plead,  and  was  barbarously  pressed  to 
death,  being  subjected  to  the  '■^  peine  forte  et  dure"  as  provided  by  the 
law  of  England.  We  must  recollect,  however,  in  passing  judgment 
upon  all  these  acts,  that,  provided  their  premises  were  correct,  the 
early  colonists  only  carried  out  principles  universally  received,  and 
acted  upon  for  ages,  in  the  parent  country.  And  yet  there  are 
those  who  speak  of  the  degeneracy  of  modern  times,  and  presume 


J 


THE   NORTHERN   COLONIES. 


197 


to  draw  comparisons  unfavourable  to  the  present  a^e  between  th« 

^nr ''  '^'''  '^''''''  ^"'  ''-'^^y'  -^  tfat  o?:  w 

The  first  public  intimation  of  any  change  in  feplin^  «.  .  •  • 
respecting  the  Salem  murders  appeals  in  a'^^ont^trseirt: 
the  general  court,  at  its  October  session,  by  the  minister  oflndove^ 
and  h,s  parishioners.  The  special  court  was  then  andlhtre tbol 
>shed  and  he  mterval  between  that  period  and  the  month  o  Jam  .' 
ry,  1693  )  when  the  regular  criminal  court  was  to  sit,  allowed 
time  for  reflection  on  the  part  of  the  excited  populace.  When  "he 
.ew  cases  came  before  a  grand  jury,  twenty-six  indictments  (out  of 
%-s.x)  were  found  true  bills,  but  upon  tdal,  there  were  but  three 

:::;rny.  "^^^ ''--  ^^-^  ^-^^^  --  -p^^-d.  and  ^x 

Mather  himself,  giving  his  own  ideas,  or  endorsing  those  of  an- 
other,  confesses  that  the  matter  might  have  been  carried  too  f!r  for 
he  says:  "at  la.t  it  was  evidently  seen  that  there  must  b    a' stop 

condemnation.  And  again:  "It  cannot  be  imagin'd  that  in  a 
p  ace  of  so  much  knowledge,  so  many,  in  so  smafl  a  compU  of 
land,  should  so  abominably  leap  into  the  devil's  lap  all  at  onceT 


CHAPTER  I?. 

IN  NEW  YORK:   MOCK-TRIALS  OF  THE   ACCUSED:   BARBAROUS 
PUNISHMENTS.-CONNECTICUT:    THE    SAYBROOK  pAtpoRM 
-MASSACHUSETTS:  BURNING  OF  DEKRFIELD:  DIFFICUITIES  ' 
BETWEEN   THE   GOVERNORS   .AND    ASSEMBLIES  -NEW 
HAMPSHIRE;   ATTACK   ON   COCHECO:    EASTERN   IN- 
DIAN   WAR,— RHODE  ISLAND:   ITS  COMMERCIAL 
PROSPERITY.— NEW  JERSEY:   OPPOSITION  TO 
ARBITRARY  TAXATION:   SCOTCH  IMMIGRA- 
TION:  PROSPERITY   OF   THE   COLONY:   ITS 
UNION    WITH    x\EW    YORK. 

With  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  series  of 
movements  and  conflicts  commenced  fn  the  en 


ilnnies,  the  tendc 


cucy 


198 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


of  which  was  directly  and  steadily  towards  the  establishment  of  those 
principles  which  resulted  in  their  final  independence.  In  New  York 
under  the  governments  of  the  reckless  and  profligate  Lord  Corn- 
bury,  of  Hunter,  of  Cosby,  and  Clark,  vexed  questions  arose 
respecting  the  collection  and  application  of  the  colonial  revenues. 
The  public  monies  had  been  so  scandalously  appropriated  or  misap- 
plied by  Cornbury,  that,  under  his  successors,  care  was  taken  by  the 
assembly  to  secure  the  country  against  similar  loss  by  the  dishonesty 
or  incompetency  of  the  executive.  The  result  was  an  almost  con- 
stant altercation  between  the  house  and  the  governor's  council.  The 
attempt  by  the  latter  to  alter  or  amend  the  fiscal  provisions  of  the 
former  was  met  by  determined  resistance,  and  again  and  again  was 
the  assembly  dissolved  by  the  governor. 

During  the  administration  of  Clark,  who,  as  senior  member  of  the 
council,  took  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor  upon  the  death  of 
Crosby,  in  1736,  the  assembly  made  express  declaration,  in  an  address 
to  the  governor,  of  the  principles  by  which  their  legislation  should 
be  governed,  in  the  following  language:  "We  therefore  beg  leave 
to  be  plain  with  your  honour,  and  hope  you  will  not  take  it  amiss 
when  we  tell  you,  that  you  are  not  to  expect  that  we  will  either 
raise  sums  unfit  to  be  raised,  or  put  what  we  shall  raise  into  the 
power  of  a  governor  to  misapply,  if  we  can  prevent  it;  nor  shall  we 
make  up  any  other  deficiencies  than  what  we  conceive  are  fit  and 
just  to  be  paid;  nor  continue  what  support  or  revenue  we  shall 
raise,  for  any  longer  time  than  one  year"  (a  provision  for  securing 
an  annual  session  of  the  assembly);  "nor  do  we  think  it  convenient 
to  do  even  that,  until  such  laws  are  passed  as  we  conceive  necessary 
for  the  inhabitants  of  the  colony,"  &c. 

In  the  year  1741,  scenes  occurred  in  New  York  of  a  character 
strikingly  illustrative  of  the  truth,  that,  Lhe  extreme  of  cruelty  is 
generally  the  offspring  of  terror  and  cowaidice.  A  number  of  fires 
took  place  at  short  intervals,  and  although  many  of  them  were 
plainly  attributable  to  accident,  suspicion  arose  that  a  plot  had 
been  formed  by  the  negroes,  of  whom  between  one  and  two  thousand 
were  there  held  as  slaves,  to  destroy  and  plunder  the  city.  The 
testimony  of  two  infamous  informers,  given  in  the  one  instance  to 
secure  a  reward,  and  in  tlie  other,  to  escape  punishment  after  con- 
viction of  a  crime,  gave  form  and  directness  to  the  accusation.  As 
early  as  1712,  a  panic  somewhat  similar  had  resulted  in  the  death 
of  nineteen  victims  of  popular  rage  and  terror,  and  the  old  feeling 


THE   NOBTHEBN   OOIONIES.  jg 

the  enl  re  legal  fraternitv  nf  .!,«    T     '""jers  who  then  constituted 

in  the  defenio  ;!:''''"[■  rrr''  '™''  •"'  -"«' 
the  prosecutions,  The  pZ„e«  1°  T.  ''^  '"™  ™  '"'''"'f  »f 
..a  convicted  upon  .o^Sie:  "evtn:  ^tlf™  "1 

With  each  other  in  heanine  all  «nrf.  .  "  "^^-  "^^^  lawyers  vied 
ChiefJustice  Delancey  in  Lsl  1  '"  °"  *'^^^^  ^^^^s,  and 
Many  confessed,  to  sa  J;  LXf  rdtS  T'  T  I''  ''^''''^ 
teen  unhappy  convicts  were  buLd  a  ^  sLT  f"  '''"■ 
hanged,  and  seventy-one  transported  "*  '  "'^^'''''  ^''^ 

J^^^::^''^Tr  =  l^.«  -^-^  --  part,y  slaves 
eon.eU  rather  tnitL^^t^^^^^^^^^^^ 

been  formed.  altho^Lo'^Tf  t LT w'hf  r:^^^^^^       ^^^  ^^^ 
have  been  guilty  of  incendiarism.  Pumshment  may 

The  history  of  Connecticut,  during  the  first  half  nffh.    •  ^.       , 
century,  presents  little  of  historical^impomLe  eCt^^ 
tion  with   the   other   provinces   in    militn!  ^         ''''""'^■ 

brieflv  described      ThF      T  ^  operations,  elsewhere 

oneny  aescnbed.     ihe  most  important  bcal  measure  nf  t>,o  v.    •  ^ 

was  the  establishment  of  "the  Say  brook  PlaXm"  bv  an 'eM 
.astical  convention,  called  in  1708,  by  a  legisTadU  act      "  A 
subsequent  session  of  the  legislatur'e,  ft  wasTna    Id        t  all  L' 
churches  united  according  to  the  Platform    oU     ij  \  ^ 

-hlished  by  law,  allowing,  hol^S.t^f  rreh'^  ZlZ 

£:=Lr^t'' '''  '^^'^'"^ '' ''-'  -  ^^  — ^'^- 

In  the  frontier  war  with  the  French  and  Indians,  which  lingered 
t  rough  the  latter  portion  of  the  seventeenth  cen  ury  a  d  Xl 
short  mterval  of  peace,  broke  out  a-ain  in  1704  tW  7  ! 
of  Massachusetts  suffered  severely.  In  F  bruarv  of  he Tt""  "'" 
a  party  of  three  hundred  French  and  Manl  1  '  '  '' 'T' 
co.niand  of  Hertel  de  Houville,  attaclt/ 1 ^ ^/B^fi^^dt 
he  night.  The  p  ace  had  been  partially  protected  bv  palisades  and 
about  twenty  soldiers  were  quartered  there,  but  these  had   been 

*  Hildroth's  History  of  the  United  States. 

t  Hale's  History  of  tlie  Urnted  States. 


200 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


grossly  negligent  in  not  mounting  guard,  and  the  surprise  was  com- 
plete. The  popular  narrative  of  Mr.  Williams,  the  minister,  gives 
a  vivid  description  of  the  calamity.  "Not  long  before  the  break  of 
day,"  he  says,  "  the  enemy  came  in  like  a  flood  upon  us,  our  watch 
being  unfaithful."  The  inhabitants  made  what  resistance  they  could 
but  such  was  the  suddenness  of  the  assault,  and  the  superiority  of 
the  enemy's  force,  that  the  strife  was  soon  at  an  end.  The  town 
was  burned;  forty -seven  of  its  defenders  perished  on  the  spot;  and  a 
great  numberof  prisoners — men,  women,  and  children — were  marched 
off  through  a  deep  snow  towards  Canada — "nineteen  of  whom" 
sa^^s  the  narrator,  "were  afterwards  murdered  by  the  way,  and  two 
starved  to  death  near  Coos,  in  a  time  of  great  scarcity  or  famine 
the  Indians  underwent  there."  Mrs.  Williams  was  among  the  vic- 
tims on  the  route.  Those  who  finally  reached  their  place  of  destina- 
tion, were  kept  prisoners  for  several  years.  Fifty-seven  of  them 
were  sent  back  to  Boston  in  1706. 

The  operations  against  Canada,  in  which  the  New  England  colo- 
nies were  jointly  engaged,  during  the  few  years  succeeding  this 
period,  have  already  been  described  in  the  history  of  the  French 
Canadian  settlements.  The  long-continued  war  had  greatly  checked 
the  growth  of  the  exposed  colonies,  and,  at  the  conclusion  of  peace 
in  1713,  Massachusetts  was  left  burdened  with  a  heavy  debt. 

For  many  years  thereafter,  the  general  assembly  of  this  colony 
was  in  continual  controversy  with  a  succession  of  royal  governors 
respecting  the  establishment  of  a  fixed  salary,  which  should  render 
the  position  of  the  latter  more  independent.  The  demand  for  this 
measure  was  firmly  refused,  and  it  was  finally  settled  that  the  gov- 
ernor should  be  paid  only  by  an  annual  appropriation. 

For  the  important  colonial  expedition  against  Canada  in  1745, 
and  the  fall  of  Louisburg,  see  the  articles  upon  Acadia,  the  settle- 
ment and  history  of  Canada,  &c.,  under  the  title  of  the  French  in 
America. 

We  find  little  of  public  interest  to  record  of  the  sparsely  populiited 
colony  of  New  Hampshire  from  the  time  of  its  separation  from  Mas- 
sachusetts, at  the  close  of  Andros'  administration,  up  to  the  events 
wliioh  immediately  preceded  the  American  revolution.  Many 
strange  tales  are  told  of  incidents  connected  with  the  Indian  wars, 
the  frontier  position  of  the  colony  rendering  it  peculiarly  liable  to 
hostile  incursion.  Among  these  is  the  account  given  of  the  attack 
upon  Cocheco,  or  Dover,  in  1689.     One  ^fajor  Waldron  had  com- 


THE   NORTUKBN   COLONIES. 


201 


mand  of  a  garrison  sufficient  to  protect  the  post,  if  due  care  had  been 
taken  to  guard  against  surprise. 

The  enemy  were  let  in,  in  the  night,  by  two  squaws  who  had 
obtumed  permKss,on  to  sleep  in  the  fortified  houses.  ^.  The  English 
wee  completely  overpowered,  fifty-two  were  killed  or  carried  aC 
apfve;  an.ong  the  former  was  Major  Waldron.  The  old  warrior 
(  e  was  eighty  years  of  age)  defended  himself  with  IZZ 
-.rength  and  courage,  but  was  finally  struck  down  from  b  nd° 
Bra,sed  and  mangled,  he  was  placed  in  a  chair  upon  a  tab  and 
he  savages,  ga  henng  round,  glutted  their  long-cherished  v  ng^ance 
by  cu  mg  and  torturmg  the  helpless  captive.  He  was  in  bad'odou 
..th  the  Indians  for  having,  as  they  alleged,  defrauded  them  in  for 

'    ^'^'^r^'""'-  J'  ""  ''''''''  ^--^  ^^-  that  he  u  ed 
J    to  count  his  fist  as  weighing  a  pound,  also  that  his  accounts  were 

not  crossed  out  according  to  agreement.'  Placed,  a.  above-mentioled 
upon  a  table,  some  of  them  'in  turns  gashed  his  naked  breast,  say! 
...g,  I  cross  out  my  account.  Then,  cutting  a  joint  from  his  fingTr 
would  say:  will  your  fist  weigh  a  pound  now?'    They  continued 

Xrht^^"" ''  '''^''' '--  ^-  ^^  b^-d,  .z:zt 

The  expeditions  of  this  period  against  the  eastern  Indians  and 

F  ench  are  described  in  the  quaint  narrative  of  Colonel  Benjamin 

Church  who  closed  h.s  military  career  in  these  services.    In  the  th"  e 

ears  Indian  war,  which  broke  out  in  1722,  the  settlements  in  New 

uffered  severely  from  savage  depredations.  Of  all  the  events  of 
the  war  none  was  more  celebrated  in  its  time,  than  the  expedition 
under  Captain  John  Lovewell,  and  the  fight  at  PigwacketTn  he 
Saco  in  which    e  and  more  than  half  his  companion?  perish;d 

Th  colony  of  Rhode  Island,  under  the  charter  of  1663  resumed 
upon  the  deposition  of  Andros,  continued  to  prosper.  S  Z2n 
-ured  It  against  danger  from  Indian  invasion,  and  iteexc   iTnt 

C^clrir^^^'T'^  *°  r  ^-^^^^"^'"^  population  freJie! 

Me  commercial  operations.  A  large  back  country  was  supplied 
.  h  oreign  goods  from  Newport.  It  is  even  said'to  have  bet  a 
mat  er  of  senous  question,  in  early  times,  whether  New  York  could 

niirto ' ;"  -'"'^  r^^"""^  ^^^-p"^*:  -  *-^  ^*  -  trat  a 

ir    '  r  ^"terprise  and  exertion  is  far  more  important  to  the 
welfare  of  a  country  than  the  greatest  natural  advantages.     The 
*  Indian  Ruces  in  Ameriua. 


202 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


rugged  soil  of  New  England  has  nourished  a  race,  the  field  of  whose 
exertions  is  boundless:  the  inhabitants  of  the  barren  island  of  Nan- 
tucket have  been,  so  to  speak,  driven  to  employ  their  energies  in 
enterprise,  than  which  none  has  proved  more  permanently  profitable. 

New  Jersey  was  among  the  foremost  and  most  earnest  of  the 
northern  colonies,  in  resistance  to  arbitrary  power  on  the  part  of 
her  governors.  The  imposition  of  a  duty,  and  the  levy  of  a  tax  by 
Andros,  when  he  was  first  commissioned  by  the  Duke  of  York,  was 
the  occasion  of  a  remonstrance,  in  which  the  standing  claim,  that 
taxes  should  not  be  imposed  without  the  people's  assent,  was 
strongly  and  successfully  urged. 

Under  the  management  of  Penn  and  his  associates,  a  new  impetus 
was  given  to  the  prosperity  of  the  colony  by  the  immigration  of  a 
vast  number  of  the  persecuted  Presbyterians  from  Scotland.  They 
formed  a  sober  and  industrious  population,  well  fitted  to  mingle 
upon  terms  of  sympathy  and  brotherhood  with  the  Quaker  inhabit- 
ants and  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans,  by  whom  the  country 
was  peopled.  Glowing  accounts  are  given  of  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  lands  were  brought  under  cultivation,  of  the  efficient  means 
which  were  taken  to  secure  the  blessings  of  free  education,  and  of 
the  general  thrift  and  prosperity  of  the  colony. 

New  Jersey,  together  with  New  York  and  the  New  England  colo- 
nies, was  brought  under  the  domination  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros  in 
1688.  For  many  years  after  the  revolution  of  that  date,  its  affairs 
remained  in  an  unsettled  state;  but  in  1702,  a  surrender  of  their 
legislative  powers  by  the  proprietors,  resulted  in  the  temporary 
union  of  the  province  with  New  York,  then  under  the  government 
of  Corn  bury. 


THE  SOUTHEM  COLONIES, 


CONTINUED. 


CHAPTEH   I. 


—  TRAFFIC  IN  NEGROES  PROHIBITED.— FRED-' 
BRICA   FOUNDED.  — WAR   WITH   SPAIN. 

As  late  as  the  year  1732,  when  plans  for  the  settlement  of  the  coun- 
try included  between  the  Savannah  and  Altamaha  rivers  were  first 

ctively  undertaken,  the  whole  district,  together  with  the  a^-o!nint 
terntory  now  included  in  the  state  of  Georgia,  remained  unetanted 
except  by  savages,  and  a  debatable  ground  between  the  Eng  sh 
colonies  and  those  of  Spain.     In  the  month  of  June,  in  the  v  ar 
above-mentioned,  James  Oglethorpe,  with  twenty  assoc  a 'es    n  e" 
ad,  obtained  a  charter  from  George  II.,  for  the  foundat  on  o  °a 

olony  in  this  unoccupied  region-the  special  object  of  the  grantee! 

fc  :  oTrd    •'"  "'^'"  '^^  P°°^  ^"^  ^'"P"--^  debtors'f     th 
ubjects  of  religious  persecutions,  and  for  all  standing  in  need  of 

chanty,  who  might,  by  removal  to  a  new  country    be  re.  dered 
eventually  self  dependent,  u.seful,  and  prosperous.      ^' 

Ihe   eader  in  this  enterprise  was  a  soldier  and  a  scholar  and 

aWioug^i  ye    a  young  man,  was  possessed  of  experience  i     pub]  c 

W,  and  maturity  of  judgment,  which  well  qualified  him  for  1  is 

esponsible  undertaking.     He  had  been  for  several  years  engaged  ia 

Str'd  b.  '"^r""''."  ^'  ^'^  ^°"^'^^°"  ^'  the'multitudef  eon 
fied  for  debt,  in  Great  Britain,  and  his  exertions  had  awakened 

mu  h  at,en,on  among  the  benevolent  and  philanthropic.     He  met 
tion  and  establishment  of  the  members  of  his  new  colony. 


204 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


Oglethorpe  sailed  for  America   in   November,  1732,  with  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  emigrants.     He  first  landed  at  Charleston 
where  provisions  were  provided  by  the  inhabitants  for  the  present 
support  of  the  voyagers,  and  boats  for  their  conveyance  to  their 
new  homes. 

The  site  occupied  by  the  present  city  of  Savannah,  on  Yamacraw 
Bluff,  was  fixed  upon  for  the  first  settlement.  Elevated  above  the 
surrounding  level,  a  few  miles  from  the  entrance  of  the  river  this 
position  commands  a  beautiful  and  extensive  view  in  the  direction 
of  the  sea.  A  tribe  of  the  Muscogees,  or  Lower  Creeks,  dwelt  in 
the  vicimty.  These  "were  peaceably  disposed  towards  the  white 
settlers,  but  the  governor  of  the  infant  colony  thought  it  advisable 
to  put  himself  upon  safe  ground  as  regarded  the  Indian  claims 
lie  therefore  secured  the  services  of  a  half  breed  woman,  named 
Mary  Musgrove,  who  could  speak  English,  and,  by  her  mediation 
brought  about  a  conference  with  the  chiefs  of  the  tribe.  ' 

Mary  had  formerly  married  a  white  trader  from  Carolina  Be- 
sides  her  usefulness  as  an  interpreter,  she  had  such  influence  over 
her  tribe,  that  Oglethorpe  thought  it  worth  his  while  to  purchase 
her  services  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  pounds  a  year.  She  be 
came,  afterwards,  a  source  of  no  little  danger  and  annoyance  to  the 
English. 

Fifty  chiefs  of  the  Creek  nation  were  assembled  at  the  place  of 
conference,  and  Tomochichi,  the  most  noted  among  those  then 
known  to  the  settlers,  made  an  amicable  speech,  proffering  at  the 
same  time,  a  present  of  a  buffalo  skin,  adorned  with  eagles'  feathers  "* 
By  the  terms  of  tiie  treaty,  the  king  of  England  was  acknowledged 
by  the  Indians  as  their  sovereign,  and  provisions  were  made  for  the 
presiTvatKjn  of  peace  and  quiet  between  them  and  the  settlers 

'•'I'iie  lands  lying  between  the  Savannah  and  Altamaha  were 
m.M.le  over  to  the  English,  with  all  the  islands  on  that  coast,  except 
St.  Catharine's  and  two  others,  which  were  reserved  for  the  use  of 
the  In.lii.ns  as  bathing  and  fishing  stations.  A  tract  was  also  set 
apart  for  the  latter  to  encamp  upon  when  they  visited  their  white 
friends,  a  little  above  the  Yamacraw  Blutt'." 

The  liberal  offers  of  the  patrons  and  proprietors  of  the  new  col- 
ony of  Georgia-religious  freedom,  (to  the  exclusion,  however  of     ' 
1  apisfs,)  personal  security,  free  grants  of  land,  free  passage,  and  a     i 
temporary   supply   of    provision-proved    strong    inducements  to     I 

♦  Iiidiiui  Riioi's  of  Ainenc.'i.  I 


THE   SODTHEBN   COLONIES. 


205 


immigration  Not  only  the  poor  outcasts  who  had  gladly  availed 
themselves  of  the  assistance  of  the  charitable,  thronged  to  tilie  settle- 
men,  but  a  thrifty  and  industrious  population  poured  in  from 
Scotland,  Switzerland,  and  Germany.  A  a>nsiderable  body  of 
Moravians,  from  the  latter  country,  arrived  in  March,  1734  and 
with  the  assistance  cordially  proffered  by  Oglethorpe,  commenced  a 
settlement  at  the  mouth  of  Ebenezer  creek,  which  empties  into  the 
Savannah,  a  considerable  distance  above  the  capital.  The  Scotch 
who  arrived  in  the  following  year,  settled  at  Darien,  called  by  them 
New  Inverness. 

In  February  1736,  the  governor,  returning  from  England,  whither 
he  ha  I  voyaged  to  procure  contributions  and  recruits  for  his  colony 
brought  with  him  about  three  hundred  immigrants.  A  portion 
d  these  were  Moravians,  and  among  them  was  the  celebrated  John 
Wesley,  who  came  out  fired  with  religious  zeal  for  the  conversion 
01  tlie  Indians. 

A  general  spirit  of  good-will,  peace,  and  content,  seemed  to  per- 
vade the  community.  The  powers  of  government  were,  it  is  true 
vested  in  the  trustees,  under  the  charter,  but  these  benevolent  indi- 
viduals, who  received  no  emoluments  for  their  services,  appear  to 
have  had  the  interests  of  the  colony  at  heart.  A  vain  attempt  was 
made,  indeed,  to  secure  the  settlement  against  the  evils  of  slavery 
he  miportation  of  negroes  being  forbidden;  but  within  a  few  years 
the  inhabitants  became  convinced  that  the  condition  of  their  nei^^h- 
bours,  who  availed  themselves  of  the  labour  of  blacks,  was  more 
prosperous  and  promising  than  their  own,  and  the  natural  result 
of  tins  conclusion,  was  the  permanent  establishment  of  tlu>  present 
servile  system.  ' 

In  February,  (1736,)  the  town  of  Frederica,  on  St.  Simon's  Island 
was  laid  out,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  governor,  in  person' 
mlvantiige  being  taken  of  an  old  Indian  clearing  in  that  locality! 

rom  St.  Simon's,  Oglethorpe  extended  his  journey  southward, 
through  the  inland  channels,  which  b.mler  the  whole  coast,  takin-^ 
pos.session  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  marking  ou°t 
sites  for  defensive  posts.  The  English  claim  included  all  north  of  the 
fet.  Johns,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Spaniards  asserted  title  to 
the  whole  of  Georgia,  and  even  included  in  their  demands  a  portion 
ot  bouth  Carolina,  limiting  their  territory  by  St.  Helena  Sound 

J  liese,  and  other  conflicting  claims,  resulted  in  war  between  the 
two  nations.     Oglethorpe  having  received  a  military  conunission 


206 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF  III8T0KY. 


88  brigadier-general  over  the  forces  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina, 
busied  himself  in  precautionary  measures  for  the  defence  of  the 
colonies.     The  fort  at  Frederica  was  completed  and  strengthened  as 
forming  one  of  the  most  important  strongholds  on  the  coast.    Hih 
special  attention  was  devoted  to  a  confirmation  of  the  good-will  of 
the  natives,  among  whom  Spanish  agents  had  been  for  some  time 
occupied  in  sowing  distrust  and  suspicion.    The  Creeks,  however 
still  retained  the  greatest  personal  attachment  to  Oglethorpe.    He 
was  among  the  few  officials  who  kept  faith  with  them,  and  they 
could  not  fail  to  appreciate  his  heartiness  and  sincerity.     In  1739 
he  attended  a  great  meeting  of  the  chiefs,  far  in  the  interior,  on  the 
Chattahoochee,  where  he  smoked  the  calumet  of  peace  with  the 
assembly,  and  renewed  the  old  treaties  of  friendship  and  mutual 
protection. 


uJuAiTiLiuiii      JlX. 

OGLETHORPE'S  EXPEDITION   AGAINST  ST.   AUGUSTINE:   SIEGE 
OP  THE  TOWN;   FAILURE  AND  RETURN  OF  THE  EXPEDITION. 
—  SPANISH   INVASION   IN   1742. — DEFENCE    OF   FRED- 
ERICA. — STRATAGEM    OF    OGLETHORPE. — THOMAS 
BOSOMWORTH;    HIS  INTRIGUES   WITH    THE  IN- 
DIANS;  LITIGATION   WITH  THE  COLONY. — 
GEORGIA    A    ROYAL    PROVINCE. 

"With  the  commencement  of  the  year  1740,  an  expedition  was 
undertaken  by  General  Oglethorpe  against  St.  Augustine.  He 
readily  reduced  two  small  Spanish  outposts,  and  encamped  his 
forces  in  the  vicinity  until  he  could  procure  reinforcements  from 
Carolina.  These  arrived  about  the  close  of  May,  and,  with  no  less 
than  one  thousand  regular  troops  and  militia,  and  a  considerable 
body  of  Creek  allies,  he  laid  siege  to  the  town.  The  undertaking 
resulted  in  disappointment.  St.  Augustine  was  well  garrisoned  and 
fortified;  the  besieging  troops  were  reduced  in  numbers  and  effi- 
ciency by  desertion  and  by  the  diseases  incident  to  the  season,  and 
the  general  was  compelled  to  raise  the  siege  and  to  retreat  into 
Georgia. 


'H!! 


No  further  hostile  domonstrut.-on  ^f 
by  either  colony  for  a  spa^  of  two  '"^  ''"P^'-tance,  was  made 
period  the  inhabitanta  of  Carolina  anrfa™'  "■  *''^  ''"'*  °^  ^^'''^ 
reports  of  the  approach  of  a  la  «e  SoanfiT'  ""''^  "'^"'"''^  ^y 
barked  at  the  West  Indies  for  th «  !     ^  J^''^'    ^^«  ^^^-^e  em- 

colonies,  is  set  down  atim  trenr'?'''°"*^^-^"Gl-^ 
bered  over  thirty  sail.  oTthor'  ^"'*  -  "''°'  *^'  ^'''  ""'"■ 
Carolina,  exhibited  great  CTJ"''  ''""'^  P^««-«  -  aid  from 
the  defence  of  Georgia.  He  Sr  f 'u'""^  ^"°^  generalship  in 
nam,  on  Cumberland'  InfaCdrb  l^t  T^"'^  ^*  ^^^  ^il- 
betook  himself,  with  his  main  fl J  ^^'^'  ^"«"^^'  *"d  then 

i^t^^^^^^^:-f^  fi^'e.er.  the 
and  effected  a  landing  on  he  i  llnd^^  ^  "  '^"  '^^"^^  ^^*^^-«' 
leading  to  Frederica,  las  def  n^Te  J^T^^^^^^  ^'^^^  ^^^ 

on.  »ide  and  a  thick  forest  on  the  other  i!,  ^  '  '^"'"P  °" 
a  passage  were  met  by  an  obstinal  an^"  T!  ""'"^^^  *°  ^^''^'^ 

days  later,  by  a  pretended  dtpathdes^^^^^^^^^^^  '^"^« 

the  hands  of  the  enemy    o2Zr   ^'''«°«^^3^  «"«^ed  to  fall  into 

Spanish  commander""^'^SL';Tbi;r''^'>  '^^^^^^"^  *b« 
momentarily  expected  from  Carolina  Thlf  •/'"'"*"  "^'^ 
by  the  appearance  of  some  small  v^sels  off  ^he  ^t"  ^^""^^'^^^^ 

lived  to  a  venera  Je  olnre/  e  p  c^a^^^^^^      tf  ^^^'^^^    ^« 

^^andpe.on..i;..rti:^^tz:ti::L£ 

dea'dtt'et  t^S  trn^f"^  T'''  ^^^^  «-  ^-.e  a 

an-g  the  most  noted  r^  ^onlT  l^/'^T"  ^'  *^^  'y^'^"^ 

wWpreachinghadalreadTg'enlilatTd;   ^^^^^^^^ 
himself  in  its  fovour,  trusting  that  Ln  '^"'^'  ^^P^^^^^d 

bj  translation  from  a  sava"    ul  nT^"""  "'''  ""'^^^  ^'  ^^^^^^^^ 
number  of  white  coll  W   ^!  .u  '^"^  '^''^^^  °^  Christians.     The 

fee  thousi  '''  "*  *'"  P^"°^'  "-  P-bably  not  far  from 

the  p^7oT?nrTZrsT"'^^  '"u^  ™°^^  ^"^"^^'-^  ^^^  on 
Vol.  nW2^"'  Bosomworth   to  aggrandize  himself  by 


208 


THE  PEOPLB'8   HOOK  OK   HISTORY. 


attaining  a  supremacy  over  the  Creeks.  ITo  had  been,  formerly,  a 
chaplain  in  Oglethorpo'H  regiment,  and  had  married  Mary  Miia- 
grove,  hifl  half-breed  interpreter.  In  Pecembor,  of  1747,  thin  man 
fell  in  with  a  company  of  chiefH,  belonging  to  the  nation,  then  on 
a  visit  to  Frederica;  and  persuaded  them  to  sign  certain  articles, 
acknowledging  one  of  their  number,  named  Malatche  Opiya  Mcoo, 
as  rightful  king  over  the  whole  Creek  nation.  Boaoniworth  then 
procured  from  >falatcho  a  conveyance,  for  certain  considerations— 
iunong  other  things,  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  clothing— 
of  the  islands  formerly  owned  by  the  Indians,  to  himself  and  his 
wife  Mary,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  'as  long  as  the  sun  shall  shine, 
or  the  waters  run  in  the  rivers,  for  ever.'  This  deed  was  regularly 
witnessed,  proved  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  recorded  in  due 
form.  Bosomworth  made  some  efforts  to  stock  and  improve  these 
islands,  but,  his  ambition  becoming  aroused  by  success  in  liia  lirst 
intrigue,  he  entered  upon  one  much  more  extensive.  By  hia  per- 
suasions, his  wife  now  made  the  extraordinary  claim  that  she  was 
Malatche's  elder  sister,  and  entitled  to  regal  authority  over  the 
whole  Creek  territory,"* 

No  matter  how  shallow  a  claim  may  be,  if  openly  and  obstinately 
persisted  in,  it  will  generally  obtain  credit  with  some.  A  great  dis- 
turbance ensued,  and,  at  one  time,  the  town  of  Savannah  was  in  no 
small  danger  from  the  Indians-  of  Mary's  party,  who  appeared  in 
deftjnco  of  her  asserted  rights.  A  long  and  wearisome  litigation  in 
the  courts  of  Great  Britain  was  maintained  by  Bosomworth  and  his 
brother,  Adam,  the  Indian  agent  in  Carolina,  with  the  colony  of 
Georgia.  Final  decision  was  not  rendered  until  1759,  when  Mnrv 
and  her  husband  had  their  title  to  St.  Catharine's  island  confirnu'il, 
The^  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives  in  quiet  possession  of  the 
property. 

Prior  to  this  period,  in  1754,  a  royal  government  had  succeedtd 
the  surrender  of  their  chartered  rights  by  the  trustees.  The  colony 
was  not  exempt  from  the  usual  difficulties,  jealousies,  discontent,  nnd 
hardships  which  .so  generally  beset  new  settlements,  and  to  which 
Georgia  was  peculiarly  exposed  from  the  heterogeneous  character 
of  its  inhabitants.  The  only  important  events  in  which  she  bore  a 
part  during  the  further  continuance  of  the  colonial  system,  are  con- 
nected with  the  Cherokee  wars,  of  which  a  brief  account  will  be 
given  hereafter. 

*  Indi.in  Races  of  America. 


TIIK  SOUIHiaK  C'OIONIICB. 


CHAPTEB   HI. 


SOTTH 


IfVE: 
ON  T 


CAROLINA;    R  E  L  I  0  I0D8  CO  N  T  RO  V  E  R8  I  ES.    4RrHT>ATv.a 
ADMINISTRATION:   MOORE'S  EXP.niTION  AOAINstVt    ,        's'  '^ 
^ASrON  OP  INDIAN  TERRITORY:   FR,,    nvZ\ 
COAST:   CULTURE   OF    RICE:    INDIAN   CONSP    RACV 
REVOLT  AGAINST  THE   PROPRIETORS:   THE  cTaht^ 
DECLARED  PORPEIT:   SOUTH    CAROLINA   A   Ro 

PROVINCK.-NORTH  CAROLINA:   POLITICAL  DIS 
TURBANCES:    A    PROSPEROUS  AN  A  RC  HL   8EP 

ARATION^PROM    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  • 

• ,.  .he  province  .o  tl^lLrn  iv::™^^^:':: "™° 

I   l.bera„y,  ,n  the  year  1695.  gave  promise  of  a  better  sf      of  th'n   ' 

Ih  s  worthy  governor,  by  moderate  but  effective  re^uladons    uo" 

ceeded  u.  qu.etmg  the  turbulent  factions  of  the  col  ;  an^  „  e-  " 

e  .atmg,  by  protection  and  kind  offices,  the  neighbo  rin  "  the  "f 

Indians  and  the    Spanish  colonists  of  Florida       Th?°Hnn 

any  t  mes  the  want  of  proper  instruments  for  determining  til 
ong.  «  e,  rendered  their  condition  much  more  perilo         Im^    ! 

to  cproca  e  kmdness  and  good-will.  In  almost  every  instance 
wh^  they  have  made  unprovoked  attacks  upon  the  whi  ts  he 
cause  can  be  traced  to  son>c  error  or  n.i.sconcept  on  ' 


.v^ 


KI.U' 


n 

i 

I! 


210 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY, 


When  Archdale  left  the  colony,  former  dissensions  were  revived 
although  he  still  exerted  all  his  influence  with  the  proprietors  for 
the  maintenance  of  religious  liberty.  The  appointment  of  James 
Moore,  represented  as  a  grasping  and  selfish  man,  to  the  of^ce  of 
governor,  was  little  conducive  to  quiet  and  prosperity. 

Under  his  administration,  war  having  broken  out  between  Eng- 
land and  Spain,  a  colonial  expedition  was  planned  against  St.  Au- 
gustine. Bound  on  this  enterprise,  Moore  sailed  for  Florida,  in  the 
mouth  of  September,  1702,  at  the  head  of  about  six  hundred  volun- 
teers. He  succeeded  in  capturing  the  town,  but  the  strong  military 
fortress  constituted  a  safe  and  defensible  place  of  retreat  for  the 
Spaniards.  While  waiting  the  arrival  of  artillery  for  the  reduction 
of  the  fort,  several  Spanish  vessels  arrived  off  the  harbour,  and 
Moore  was  obliged  to  beat  a  retreat  by  land,  leaving  his  vessels, 
stores,  &c.,  to  the  enemy.  The  expense  of  the  fruitless  undertaking 
was  defrayed  by  a  large  issue  of  colonial  bills  of  credit. 

In  the  month  of  December,  of  the  same  year.  Governor  Moore 
retrieved  his  credit  as  a  general,  by  a  successful  march  through  the 
extensive  intervening  wilderness,  and  a  descent  upon  the  Indians 
and  Spanish,  on  the  coast  of  Appalache.  The  hostile  settlements 
of  that  whole  neighbourhood  were  broken  up.  The  Spaniards  were 
enabled  to  defend  the  fort  of  Ayavalla,  but  the  assailants  burned 
the  adjoining  church.  Between  one  and  two  hundred  Indians  were 
carried  off  captives,  to  be  afterwards  sold  as  slaves. 

In  1706,  the  Episcopal  establishment  was  extended  to  South  Car- 
olina, but  the  condition  of  dissenters  was,  at  the  same  time,  rendered 
more  safe  by  a  definite  toleration  in  their  religion,  and  security  of 
their  civil  rights.  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson  at  this  time  held  the 
office  of  governor,  and  had  an  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself  by 
a  brave  and  determined  defence  of  the  coast  against  a  French  fleet 
sent  out  from  Cuba  to  invade  the  country.  The  enemy  met  with 
heavy  loss  at  every  attempt  to  land,  and  one  of  their  vessels  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  colonists. 

The  culture  of  rice,  introduced  a  number  of  years  previous,  had 
by  this  time  become  extensive,  and  proved  a  source  of  profit  to  the 
planter  unequalled  by  any  previous  agricultural  enterprise.  Indigo, 
an  article  which  has  been  of  late  years  neglected,  was  also  found  a 
profitable  crop  by  the  early  planters  of  the  southern  colonies. 

In  the  spring  of  1715,  the  machinations  of  the  French  and  Span- 
iards stirred  up  a  most  dangerous  conspiracy  of  the  Yemasees, 


ISTOEY. 


THE  SOUTHERN   COLONIES. 


2U 


•6  J.  J. 

Uches,  and  other  Southern  tribes  acr-inst  tl,o  t?     i-  r. 
The  detached  and  unprotected  vilk^nVp  a„.:£  Tt^' 
tier  were  ravaged,  and  some  four  hundred  otT     ■^  t  ™" 

i.h.d,  or  were  re«=rved  for  .he  worS  „?  pr  1,41^1'""'  ""' 
The  main  body  of  the  Indian  confederates  CMllfl^Tr 
s"«Z-c'.  '"-"^   °-'^'  <^°—  O'arjSn^trti;^ 

The  neglect  of  the  proprietors  to  furnish  any  means  of  dpfpno   f 
te  colony,  their  refusal  to  make  remunerationS:!  I^t "  ,^^ 
of  the  iate  Indian  war  oppressive  regulations.  oppositio7to  Cs 
sary  nactments  and  the  maintenance  in  office  of  obnoxious  x^d 
viduals,  resulted  in  a  ponular  out  V,ronT.  „     ■    .  ""'^"^lous  indi- 

The  .esembly.  in  ,719,  ^o^L^Z  M  t  rrer'no7a:d*°'r- 

™inKtr  .tr  y':  *^  ^'"  ^'^  *'  -- 

was  exammed  into  by  the  English  government;  the  charter  to  th^^ 
propnetoi.  was  declared  forfeited;  and  Francis  kicholson  received 
the  appomtment  of  governor.  The  colony  continued  thencefo  hi 
royal  provmce.  All  the  claims  of  the  proprietors  toi  nt Id  ^^ 
perqms.tes  were,  some  years  later,  acquired  by  purchase  on  the  par 
of  the  crown.  Fnendly  relations  with  the  neighbouring  Ind' an 
tribes  were  solemnly  established  in  1730  Tho  Oh/.! 
great  council  h^d  at  Nequassee,  in  the  Telesl%2  ;^t^^^^^^^^^ 
and  -Ped  by  t^e  marks  of  their  principal  chiefs,  a  treaty  of  aiS 

Z  T.t-  °'''^-  ^'^^'^  ''  *^^'^  °"™ber  we're  taken  to  Eg- 
land,  that  their  reports  on  their  return,  might  impress  the  tribe  with 
some  adequate  conception  of  the  number  and  power  of  their  allie 

Th    scattered  population  of  North  Carolina,  which  wa^  first    n- 
cluded  under  the  same  grant  with   the  southern   produce    w^ 
governed,  if  government  it  could  be  called,  by  a  deputy  from  Z 
governor  of  South  Carolina     The  greatest  freelm  of  opini  n  and 
berty  of  action  prevailed,  but  affairs  went  on  very  quietly  untii 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  an  attemnt  at  2 
establishment  of  the  Church  of  England'lrouJd  an  etrZei;  h 
t>le  spirit  among  the  Quakers  and  other  dissenters,  who  constLted 
no  small  portion  of  the  inhabitants.     A  conflict  of'  J^L,T  rS^ 
eween  Glover  and  Cary,  for  the  executive  office-the  one  beinc: 
^   en  directly  by  the  proprietors,  the  other  by  the  governor  o? 

^':^z:^''' '-'''-  '^ '  ^-^  -^-^--orl 

For  a  number  of  years,  the  community  appears  to  have  existed 


212 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTOKY. 


almost  without  law;  but  an  immigration  of  industrious  and  frugal 
Swiss,  Germans,  and  other  Europeans,  continued  to  extend  civiliza- 
tion through  the  comparatively  barren  district.  The  province  was 
already  noted  for  its  large  exportation  of  lumber,  pitch,  tar,  and 
turpentine.  In  1729,  when,  as  before  mentioned,  the  dispute's  be- 
tween the  inhabitants  of  Carolina  and  the  proprietors  were  settled 
by  an  assumption,  or  purchase,  of  the  rights  of  the  latter  by  the 
crown,  North  Carolina  was  first  constituted  an  entirely  separate 
province,  the  governor  being  selected  by  royal  appointment,  and  the 
legislative  assembly  being  chosen  by  the  people. 


CHAPTER   I?. 

VIRGINIA   UNDER   ROYAL  GOVERNORS:   STATE  OF  THE  COLONY: 

CHURCH  CONTROVERSIES.  —  PENNSYLVANIA  A  ROYAL  PROy- 

INCE:    THE   PROPRIETOR    REINSTATED:    POLICY   OP   PENN. 

DELAWARE:    DEATH    OF   PENN.    HIS   SUCCESSORS.— 

MARYLAND:    ITS  CATHOLIC   POPULATION:    GOVERN- 
MENT    OP     THE     ASSOCIATION:     OPPRESSIVE    EN- 
ACTMENTS:   THE    PROPRIETORS    RESTORED. 


Virginia,  subsequent  to  the  English  revolution,  remained  a 
royal  province  during  her  continuance  as  a  colony.  Legislation  was 
confided  to  a  governor  appointed  by  the  crown,  assisted  by  a  council 
of  his  own  nomination,  and  to  an  assembly  elected  by  the  people. 
The  first  succes.sive  incumbents  of  the  highest  office  in  the  province 
were  Francis  Nicholson  and  Sir  Edmund  Andros ;  the  same  who.se 
tyranny  and  exactions  had  previously  exasperated  the  New  Eng- 
land colonies. 

These  officials  were  invested  with  high,  and  even  arbitrary  pow- 
ers, but  the  character  of  the  people  with  whom  they  had  to  deal, 
compelled  moderation  in  their  exercise.  The  population,  although 
quite  numerous,  was  extensively  scattered,  and  the  isolated  position 
of  the  planters  and  farmers  tended  to  develop  a  strong  sen.se  of  per- 
sonal freedom  and  independence.  The  administration  of  govern- 
ment was  not  carried  on  without  considerable  conflict  between  the 
different  departments,  but  no  very  serious  difficulties  arose.    The 


THE   SOUTHERN   COLONIES. 


213 


Church  of  England  was  the  established  religious  system,  so  far  as 
any  paroehuU  system  could  be  established  over  so  wide  an  extent 
of  scattered  hamlets  or  detached  plantations.  Tobacco  was  the  great 
staple  production  of  the  province,  and  served  foi^-the  principal  cir- 
culatmg  medium.  Taxes  and  church  dues  were  specifically  payable 
in  tobacco.  From  a  complaint,  on  the  part  of  the  clergy,  that  thev 
.ere  made  losers  by  a  legislative  provision  for  compoundinc.  the 

atter  assessment  by  a  payment  in  paper  money,  arose  that°cele- 
brated  controversy  relative  to  the  "parson's  money,"  in  which  the 
eloquence  of  Patrick  Henry,  then  a  young  advocate,  prevailed 
against  a  plain  legal  claim  (1763). 

Pennsylvania,  in  consequence  of  domestic  disturbance,  fomented 
by  George  Keith,  a  seceding  Quaker,  and  because  of  suspicions 
which  had  fallen  upon  the  proprietor,  was  subjected,  in  1693  to  a 
governor  holding  commission  from  the  crown,  and  became,  for  a 
short  period,  a  royal  province.  Benjamin  Fletcher,  governor  of 
J.evv  York  received  the  appointment.  His  brief  administration 
was  niarked  only  by  strife  with  the  assembly.  In  the  summer  of 
the  following  year,  Penn,  having  regained  the  favour  of  the  king 
was  reinstated  in  his  colonial  rights.  - 

In  reestablishing  his  prerogatives,  with  a  new  settlement  of  the 
government  of  his  colony,  after  restoration  of  the  proprietary  gov- 
ernment, Wilham  Penn  took  every  precaution  to  secure  the  full 
acquiescence  of  the  inhabitants.  The  powers  of  the  governor-a 
deputy  of  the  proprietor-were  not  very  dissimilar  to  those  now 
conferred  upon  the  governor  of  either  of  the  independent  states 
The  council  was  simply  advisory,  and  the  principal  legislation  wa. 
confided  to  the  popular  assembly. 

^  The  inhabitants  ofthe  present  state  of  Delaware,  then  known  as 
Ihe  Territories,"  conceiving  that  they  were  insufficiently  repre- 
sented, hud,  sonie  years  previous,  moved  for  a  separation.  This 
had  been  accorded  by  the  proprietor,  but  the  two  provinces  were 
reunited  during  Iletcher's  administration.  A  final  separation  was 
e  ectcd  m  1702.  The  governor  of  Pennsylvania  still  retained  a 
no  iinal  authority,  but  the  new  assembly  had,  in  effect,  entire  con- 
trol  over  the  province  of  Delaware. 

Although  Penn  had  ever  pursued  a  far  more  generous  policy 

han  any  other  of  the  colonial  proprietors,  and,  with  opportimities 

for  enriching  himself  which  few  would  have  had  the  self-denial  to 

neglect,  was  growing  old  in  poverty,  all  could  not  shield  him  from 


J 


i 


214 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTOBY. 


suspicion  and  ill-will  on  the  part  of  a  portion  of  the  colonists 
"  From  various  causes,  principally  a  neglect  of  his  own  interests  in 
extending  civilization  in  America,  he  became  so  far  involved  that 
he  was  for  a  time  compelled  to  reside  within  the  rules  of  the  Fleet 
Prison.  In  1709  he  mortgaged  his  province  of  Pennsylvania  to 
relieve  himself  from  the  pressure  of  debt.  During  the  last  six  years 
of  his  life  his  bodily  and  mental  faculties  were  greatly  impaired-  he 
died,  after  a  gradual  decline,  on  the  30th  of  July,  1718."  His  rights 
as  proprietor  were  exercised,  subsequent  to  his  death,  by  his  widow 
and  afterwards  by  his  sons.  This  form  of  government  was  continued 
until  the  commencement  of  the  American  revolution. 

The  province  of  Maryland,  on  the  accession  of  William  and 
Mary,  was  under  the  administration  of  deputies  commissioned  by 
the  proprietor.  Lord  Baltimore,  (son  of  the  original  patentee)  So 
large  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  were  of  the  Catholic  persuiision- 
the  proprietor  holding  to  the  same  faith— that,  although  the  English 
church  had  been  already  established,  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected 
that  a  Protestant  succession  in  England  should  be  looked  upon  with 
general  favour  in  the  colony. 

The  proprietary  government  neglected  to  conform  to  the  new 
order  of  thmgs  until  compelled  by  a  self-constituted  association  of 
the  colonists.  A  provisional  government  was  formed,  which  ob- 
tamed  the  royal  sanction,  and  existed  until  1692,  when  a  governor 
was  appomted  directly  by  the  crown.  Maryland  became  a  roval 
province,  and  remained  such  for  a  period  of  twentv-three  years 
The  general  assembly  confirmed  the  church  establishment,  and  many 
disenfranchising  regulations  were  passed  for  the  suppression  of 
papacy.  Catholics  were  not  only  compelled  to  contribute  to  the 
support  of  the  established  church,  but  were  subjected  to  the  most 
galling  disabilities.  The  legal  successors  of  the  proprietor  were 
restored  to  their  rights  in  1715,  and  maintained  their  authority  until 
the  general  overthrow  of  the  old  governments  at  the  revolution 


IJfDIAU  WARS,  ETC. 


CHAPTEE   I. 

COMMENCEMENT    OF    rnv    Pwunnir,,^ 

^     THE  OAHEISON  OP  PORT  loUDOK,    IHE    TOWNS 
Ot    IHE    H.MtE    CHEROKPPS    BEBTROTEB 
BT    IHE    P0BCB3    tSDES    ORiKT, 

After  he  abandonment  of  Port  Duquesne,  by  the  French  a  partv 


I 


216 


THE  I'KOl'LE'S   BOOK   OF   IIISTOKY. 


provisions,  we  miiy  suppose  that  tlicy  occasionally  made  free  with 
whatever  might  supply  their  wants. 

These  injuries  were  revenged  by  the  backwoodsmen  in  the  most 
violent  and  cruel  manner.  If  we  may  credit  Adair,  an  historian 
who  had  greater  opportunities  than  any  other  writer  of  his  time  to 
acquaint  himself  with  Indian  character  and  the  history  of  tlie  south- 
ern tribes,  they  indulged  their  malice  by  tormenting  and  scalping 
their  victims.  He  adds,  that  "those  murderers  were  so  audacious 
as  to  impose  the  scalps  on  the  government  for  those  of  the  French 
Indians;  and  that  they  actually  obtained  the  premiums  allowed  at 
that  time  by  law  in  such  a  case." 

These  outrages  were  not  immediately  resented  by  the  nation,  but 
after  vain  application  for  redress,  and  the  experience  of  further 
wrongs  and  insults,  the  revengeful  spirit  of  the  Indian  was  fully 
aroused.  The  French  and  their  Creek  allies  took  the  opportunity 
to  lend  their  influence  in  exciting  hostility.  A  war-party  was  ac- 
cordingly dispatched  to  commence  retaliation  upon  the  western  set- 
tlements of  North  Carolina.  Many  of  the  whites  were  put  to  death, 
and  much  injury  was  done  upon  the  frontier. 

These  events  took  place  in  1759,  and,  as  it  was  now  evident  that 
a  general  disaffection  existed  among  the  Cherokecs,  active  exertions 
were  made  by  the  governor  of  South  Carolina,  William  Lyttleton, 
to  avert  the  calamities  of  an  Indian  war,  as  well  as  to  prepare 
measures  for  defence  in  case  of  extremity.  A  conference  was 
brought  about,  towards  the  close  of  the  year,  at  Fort  St.  George,  on 
the  Savannah.  Six  of  the  Indian  chiefs,  claiming  authority  to  act 
for  the  tribe,  appeared,  and  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace,  surrender- 
ing thirty-two  hostages,  as  security  for  their  good  faith. 

This  treaty  was  not  considered  binding  by  the  nation,  and  a 
formidable  body  of  Indians,  led  by  Occonostota,  a  uoted  war-chief, 
laid  siege  to  this  fort  in  the  month  of  February  (1760).  Coytniore, 
the  commander  of  the  garrison,  who  had,  by  some  former  transac- 
tions, acquired  the  special  ill-will  of  the  natives,  was  decoyed  with- 
out the  works,  and  shot  by  concealed  marksmen.  Several  of  his 
companions  were  wounded.  The  Indian  hostages,  from  their  place 
of  confinement  within  the  fort,  hearing  the  report  of  fire-arms, 
shouted  encouragement  to  their  people.  An  order  was  accordnigly 
given  to  put  them  in  irons.  To  this  they  refused  submission,  making 
desperate  resistance,  and  wounding  three  of  the  soldiers  who  were 
endeavouring  to  carry  out  the  order.     It  was  then  concluded  to  put 


INDIAN   WAKS. 


217 


them  all  to  death,  wliioh  wna   ,1,^«„  t     , 

tl. gh  a  l,olo  in  ,l,e%„or  '  -^  """«  ''°""  "P™  *<="■. 

™  unrter  C„l„„e,  Montgomery,  with  olL?      otl^:  f  „'   '  V  ""I  ' 
to  the  seat  of  disturbaiipfi     T>,»  i     •  i  .  ^  "  ^'^^  ^  ork, 

Carolina  offered  p  ern  Is  Jso .'"'  T"  ^'  ''^''^^'  ^"^  South 
purchase  the  a.J:Z^^\^::;:^2        T'  ^'  "^""^^^  ^« 

Tn  the  course  of  the  snrin.  clnel  Mo  '°     '""  '"^^^^• 

and  provincial  troops  Shi".  i^"'"''^' ^''^^ '^^^^^S^^^^ 

tory  of  the  Lowe    C    rolLt     "i  °"""^^'  '""'^"  *^^  "^^^^^  ^-"■ 
Thetownsof  ICeowe   and  2^^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^"^^'••^"  ^^"lemont. 

houses,  were  des^i;  d  tog2^^^  -"^^^-g  two  hundred 

visions.     Before  the  end  of  thp  .  ■         ,^"''^'^*>*'««  «f  stored  pro- 

village  left  east  of  the  Blue  RidgT '"^"'  ^'"^  ""  '^^^  ^  ^^d- 

.  selves  to  resist  the  advance  of  ,?J^'°"'  '"^  ^''^'''"^  '^'^■ 
their  principal  town  of  Etchoe  thev  nT  'T  *''  "*"''^'--  ^^^ 
now  pass,  where  a  mudd/st  elm  o'oK^^^^^  '"r'"^  '^  ^  "- 
steep  banks,  nearly  imp  Jable  w  T.'' ^'*^''"  ^'^^ 
forcing  this  de.le,  tL  aJarj^t^ith  Tety  1^"  '^ 
mnder,  seeing  that  the  Indians  had  made  a  YewTt'and  attl 
advance,  and  were  determined  to  resist  to  til  T  !  \'f^  '" 
retreat.    This  was  in  the  month  of  June  '  '""^"^^^  '' 

^7^2^;^:^^--^'  ^-^^omery,  in  pursu- 

but  a  small  force,  for  the  prltelt  t' o    t""^'  ^"^"^  Hamilton,  with 

failure  of  this  second  exJJuiT  1  .  ^''^°'^'^  ^^'^"■°'«-     The 

and  spread  unfversa    terror  n^  ''""'^  '^'  ^P'"*'^  "^  *'^«  ^"di-^, 
of  the'fronti^r     Tt  F^^^r^^^^^^^^^^^  con  te,„,,^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^.^^ 

art,  after  sustaining  a  Tongue' t.fTT?.  ""f«^  ^'-^P*-"  Sta- 
tions conceded  by  Occonostot.  of  f  I  *^'  P^*'^'^"'  "P'^"  °°"di- 
George,  or  into  Yi^  r  ThV  h  ^n^^^^^  '''''''  '^  '^^''  ^' 
before  they  were  set  unon  hwV,  '  °'''^'''  Proceeded  far, 
prisoners.  ^  "  ^^  *^'  ^"^'"y-  ^"^  -^^  ki^ed  or  taken 
Captain  Stuart  owed  hiq  Hfo  qv,;i  tu    ^    . 


218 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


tribe,  and  peaceably  disposed  towards  the  colonists.  The  safety  oi 
Fort  St.  George  was  secured  by  a  timely  warning  from  Stuart  of 
an  intended  attack  by  the  Indians.  An  attitude  of  hostility  was 
still  maintained  by  the  Cherokees,  and  constant  efforts  were  made 
by  French  agents  among  them  to  avert  any  prospect  of  a  peaceable 
settlement  of  difficulties. 

Tn  the  spring  of  1761,  a  force  of  more  than  two  thousand  British 
regulars,  provincial  troops,  and  friendly  Indians,  under  command  of 
Colonel  James  Grant,  was  marched  into  the  interior.  Old  AttakulJa- 
kulla  made  vain  interposition  in  behalf  of  his  people.  On  the  10th 
of  June,  a  desperate  effort  was  made  by  the  main  body  of  the  Indians 
to  check  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  The  battle  took  place  near  the 
spot  whither  Montgomery  had  penetrated  on  his  last^  expedition. 
The  Cherokees  were  totally  defeated;  the  town  of  Etchoe  was 
burned ;  and  "all  the  other  towns  in  the  middle  settlement,  fourteen 
in  number,  shared  the  same  fate:  the  corn,  cattle,  and  other  stores 
of  the  enemy,  were  likewise  destroyed,  and  those  miserable  savages 
with  their  families,  were  driven  to  seek  shelter  and  subsistence 
among  the  barren  mountains."* 

The  Indians  were,  of  course,  obliged  to  accept  such  terms  as  their 
conquerors  saw  fit  to  impose,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any  ungen- 
erous advantage  was  taken  of  their  helpless  condition.  Indeed,  after 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  efforts  were  made  for  the  protection  of  the 
Indians  in  their  landed  rights,  and  to  regulate  the  traffic  with  them 
so  as  to  secure  them  against  deception. 

The  whole  of  the  southern  tribes  remained,  comparatively,  at  peace 
with  the  colonies  from  this  period  until  they  became  involved  in  the 
general  Indian  wars  of  the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  "By 
a  steady  increase  of  numbers,  and  the  adventurous  spirit  of  pioneers, 
the  white  settlers  every  where  made  advances  upon  the  Indian  terri- 
tory. Sometimes  large  acquisitions  would  be  made  by  a  government 
purchase ;  but,  to  no  small  extent,  the  opinion  that  the  occupation 
of  a  few  roving  savages  could  give  no  natural  title  to  lands,  as 
opposed  to  the  claims  of  those  who  had  reclaimed,  enclosed,  and 
improved  the  wilderness,  satisfied  the  consciences  of  the  encroachers. 
The  argument  in  favour  of  this  conclusion  is  by  no  means  without 
force;  but  who  can  take  upon  himself  to  draw  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion which  shall  decide,  upon  any  principles  of  universal  application, 
the  bounds  of  so  artificial  a  right  as  the  ownership  of  land?"f 
•  McCiiU's  History  of  (Jcortna.  f  Indiiin  Rjiccs  of  America. 


INDIAN   WAB8.  glQ 


CHAPTER  IL 

ENGLISH   OCCUPATION  OP   THE   WESTERN   TRADING    POSTS  — 
CONSPIRACY  OF   THE  NORTH-WESTERN   TRIBES,  UNDER   PON- 
TIAC  — DESTRUCTION   OF  THE   ENGLISH   PORTS —TAKING 
OP    MICHILLIMACKINAC— SIEGE  OF   DETROIT.  — LOSS 
AT    BLOODY-RUN.— CLOSE    OF    THE    WAR.  — MASSA- 
CRE   OF    THE    CANESTOGA    INDIANS. 

By  treaty,  in  1760,  the  extended  line  of  stations  upon  the  western 
kkes,  belonging  to  the  French,  were  to  be  put  into  possession  of  the 
l^nghsh.      The  long   friendship  that   had  subsisted   between   the 
former  and  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pottawatomies,  &c,  who  inhab- 
ited the  country,  caused  these  tribes  to  look  with  jealous  eyes  upon 
the  proposed  English  occupation.     They  were  united  in  a  sort  of 
confederation,  at  the  head  of  which,  in  influence  and  authority 
was  Pontiac,  the  renowned  Ottawa  chief     Although  he  had  formed 
the  determination  of  restoring  his  old  allies,  the  French,  to  the  pos- 
session  of  their   established  trading  posta,  this   bold,  but  crafty 
leader,  sufl^ered  the  first  English  detachment,  under  Major  Rogers 
to  enter  the  country  without  molestation.    In  an  interview,  held 
with  the  commanding  officer,  he  exhibited  the  pride  and  dignity  of 
a  monarch,  expressly  asserting  his  own  rights  of  territory. 

His  plans  being  perfected,  and  the  cooperation  of  other  tribes— 
among  them,  the  Miamis,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Hurons,  and  Shawanees- 
being  secured,  the  month  of  June,  1763,  was  appointed  for  a  simul- 
taiieous  attack  upon  all  the  English  strongholds  at  the  west.  So 
extensive  were  the  preparations  for  this  outbreak,  that  entire  secresy 
could  not  be  preserved  respecting  it,  and  intimation  was,  from  time 
to  time,  given  by  white  traders  of  the  storm  that  was  brewing 
Either  these  reports  were  not  fully  credited,  or  the  garrisons  felt 
themselves  strong  enough  to  defy  any  attack  from  the  Indians,  for 
no  extraordinary  precautions  were  taken  for  defence. 

When  the  blow  fell,  the  Indians  appeared  in  such  numbers  that, 
although  divided  into  as  many  parties  as  there  were  points  of  attack 
they  overpowered  the  garrisons,  and  destroyed  the  works  of  nearly 
all  the  English  forts.     Nine  of  these  were  taken  by  force  or  fraud 
and  the  defenders  slain  or  carried  away  captive.     The  manner  in 


I 


220 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


wliich  Michilliinnckinac  was  seized,  is  thus  described:  " Hundreds 
of  Indians,  mostly  Chippewas  and  Sacs,  had  been  loitering  about  the 
place  for  some  days  previous,  and,  on  the  4th  of  June,  they  pro 
ceeded  to  celebrate  the  king's  birth-day  by  a  great  game  at  ball 
This  sport,  carried  on,  as  usual,  with  noise  and  tumult,  threw  the 
garrison  off  their  guard,  at  the  same  time  that  it  afforded  a  pretext 
for  clambering  into  the  fort.  The  ball  was  several  times,  as  if  by 
accident,  knocked  within  the  pickets,  the  whole  gang  rushing  in 
pursuit  of  it  with  shouts.  At  a  favourable  moment,  they  fell  upon 
the  English,  dispersed  and  unsuspicious  of  intended  harm,  and  be- 
fore any  effectual  resistance  could  be  made,  murdered  and  scalped 
seventy  of  the  number.  The  remainder,  being  twenty  men  were 
taken  captive."*  ' 

Early  in  May,  Pontiac,  in  person,  with  a  chosen  body  of  warriors 
laid  siege  to  Detroit,  the  principal  military  post  and  trading  station 
at  the  far  west.     The  place  was  garrisoned  by  an  hundred  and  tliirtv 
men,  of  whom  Major  Gladwyn  had  command.     A  plan  was  formed 
by  the  Indians  to  gain  admission  within  the  fort,  on  pretence  of  a 
conference,  and  then,  with  concealed  weapons,  (rifles,  shortened  so  a!s 
to  be  hid  by  the  blanket,)  to  fliU  upon  the  garrison  at  a  disadvaita-^e 
admit  the  main  body  from  without,  and,  after  a  general  massacre "t.i 
seize  upon  the  valuable  stores  collected  for  protection.     This  device 
was  betrayed  to  Gladwyn  by  a  .squaw  to  whom  he  had  shown  some 
kindness.     The  Indians  were  accordingly  admitted  without  hesita- 
tion, but  the  troops  were  drawn  up  ready  for  an  attack.     Ponf  ic 
'hoard  the  drums  beat,  and  saw  every  soldier's  musket  levelled 
anri  the  swords  of  the  officers  drawn  and  ready  for  use     MajoJ 
Gladwyn,  stepping  to  the  warrior  nearest  him,  lifted  his  blanket  and 
disclosed  the  shortened  rifle.     He  then  upbraided  the  sachen'i  for 
h,.s  intended  villany,  and,  taking  no  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
for  securing  him,  gave  proof  of  his  own  high-minded  sense  of  houo.r 
by  (lismis.sing  the  whole  party  unharmed." 

This  magnanimity  availed  but  little.  The  Indians,  to  the  number 
of  nearly  a  thousand,  laid  close  siege  to  the  fort,  and,  for  months  it 
was  only  by  hard  fighting,  and  with  heavy  loss,  that  provisions  ami 
stoius  could  be  furnished  from  without.  Many  of  the  captives  taken 
by  the  Indians,  were  put  to  death  with  savage  barbarity.  Three 
hundred  men  commanded  by  a  Captain  Dalyell,  were  sent  to  Detroit 
to  reinforce  the  garrison,  in  the  month  of  July.  With  this  additional 
*  Indian  Races  of  Americ.-i. 


INDIAN    WAK8. 


221 


force  ,t  was  thought  practicable  to  commence  ofTcnsive  operations 
A  sa  ly  was  made  accordingly,  but  Pontiac  had  by  some  m.L  gained 
n>tell.gence  of  what  was  about  to  take  place,  and  hadprepurc^  n 
ambush  near  the  bndge  over  Bloody.Eun.  Initead  of  su  pr  sing  tl 
enemy,  the  whites  were  taken  at  a  complete  disadva.tage.nl 
^^^^^^.  loss,  in  knied  and  woun^  of  more  tltm  r] 

All  throughout  the  north-western  frontier,  from  the  lakes  to  the 
OlHo  river,  this  conspiracy  of  the  Indian  tribes  spread  desolation 
and  distress  for  a  whole  year.  Of  the  great  leader  of  the  confedera 
.on,  we  learn  very  little  after  his  operations  against  Detroit.  In 
tl>e  summer  of  1764,  a  powerful  force,  under  General  Bradstrc  t" 
was  marched  into  the  Indian  territory,  and,  by  force  or  treaty,  peace 
was  established  with  the  various  tribes  of  the  north-west 

Connected  with  the  events  of  Pontiac's  war,  is  the  account  of  a 
barbarous  outrage  committed  at  Canestoga,  near  Lancaster,  Per>nsyl- 
vania.     The  settlers  of  this  portion  of  the  country  were  less  exposed 
to  savage  incursions  than  those  established  furtlicr  towards  the  north- 
west but  the  reports  constantly  received  of  Indian  massacres  ur.on 
he  frontier,  excited  their  minds  to  the  highest  pitch  of  fear  Lid 
hatred  towards  the  natives.     Heckewelder  .speaks  as  follows  of  the 
character  of  but  too  many  of  the  rough  pioneers  of  the  western 
wilderness:  "I  have  yet  to  notice  a  class  of  people  generally  known 
0  us  by  the  name  o    'backwood's-men,'  many  of  whom,  acting  up 
0  a  ^pretended  belief  that  'an  Indian  had  no  more  soul  than  a  buf 
alo;    and  that  to  kill  either  is  the  same  thing;  have,  from  time  to 
time,  by  their  conduct,  brought  great  trouble  and  bloodshed  on  the 
country.     Such,  then,  I  wish  to  caution  not  to  sport  in  that  maimer 
with  the  lives  of  God's  creatures.     *     *     Bdieve  that  a  time  will 
come  when  you  must  account  for  such  vile  deeds!    When  these  wlio 
have  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  your  wickedness,  will  be  called  forth  in 
judgment  against  you!     Nay,  when  your  own  descendants  will  tos- 
ifj  against  you."     The  truth  of  this  prediction  i.s  strikingly  nKuuHst 
from  the  popular  feeling  ut  the  present  day  respecting  the  Indians 
their  rights,  and  the  treatment  which  they  experienced  at  the  hands 
ot  tlie  early  settlers. 

At  Canestoga,  a  small  and  peaceable  body  of  Indians  had  been 
Jo..g  established,  under  the  care  and  teaching  of  the  Moravian  mis- 
sion. As  far  as  appears,  they  had  not  the  slightest  connection  with 
the  general  conspiracy,  nor  had  they  given  any  provocation  for  the 


222 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HI8T0KY. 


wanton  attack  which  waa  made  upon  them.  A  mob  of  more  than 
fifty  men,  from  Paxton,  fell  upon  the  settlement,  in  November,  1703 
A  portion  of  the  inhabitants  fled  to  Lancastor,  where  they  sought 
an  asylum  in  the  jail-yarda  Those  who  were  left  at  Canestogu- 
men,  women,  and  children— fourteen  in  number,  were  brutally 
murdered.  The  white  savages,  their  cruelty  unsatiated,  then  has- 
tened to  Lancaster,  and,  breaking  open  the  jail,  completed  their  work 
of  destruction.  From  fifteen  to  twenty  perished  in  the  jail-yard 
where  they  were  seen  by  one  whose  account  has  reached  us.  "Men' 
women,  and  children,  spread  about  the  prison-yard;  shot— scalped 
— hacked — and  out  to  pieces." 


J 


EUEOPEAJf  COLOIIAL  POLICY. 


SPANISH   AND   ENGLISH   RESTRICTIONS  UPON  TRADE   ANT,   rn»r 
MERGE,  — CONTRABAND    TRAPPrr        t,,/-  ^°"' 

niOCtEmo   NBOBOJS  PROII   APRICi:    NIOPIT  OP  THl! 
ISABB:  »„„B»S  BRonoHIOVBR.  B»o,,„a  Uw  tlPOK 
THB  SUMBCT  «P  8-.AyB„,-,„„„„„c      „7„7 
j  WHITB  APPRBNIICIS,  OB   "BBBBHPTlONBr.S." 

;      It  is  Jifflclt,  at  the  present  day,  to  comprehend  the  blindnea,  of 

;    imposed  upon  irJlT^^ZllTy'^T"?''''''''^''' 
bave  foreseen  .he  probab  e31„/„f th  flrr  t?" h"  "I"' 

SLtrrr  r'T''''"'™^  -1^rade:wbieh,rXrg'  he' 

miterence  in  natural  eharaoler,  were  hardly  less  gallinK     The  most 

*us  eare  was  taken  to  diseourage  the  development  of  all  inteZ 

luce    British  vessels  must  be  employed,  and  an  English  market 
«gl',  -gardless  of  tie  interest,  of  the  Merchant  and'the  t^*  ! 

p.««,we  of  aueh  a  pohey,  and  we  must  eonelude  that  those  in 
VOL.  iv. — 48 


224 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


power  foresfiw  the  consequences  of  their  proceedings,  but  trusted  to 
reap  the  benefits  i^  their  own  persons,  leaving  retribution  to  be 
visited  upon  their  posterity. 

The  temptations  held  out  to  the  contraband  trader  were  suffi- 
ciently great  for  the  incurrence  of  heavy  risks,  and  the  connivance 
of  the  home  government  at  such  irregularities,  so  far  as  they  only 
affected  the  interest  of  a  rival  nation,  gave  special  impetus  .to  their 
commission.  Severities  practised  upon  offenders  when  detected, 
and  mutual  hostility  engendered  by  continual  conflict  of  claims, 
resulted  in  wars  between  the  old  countries,  the  burden  of  which  fell 
most  heavily  upon  the  infant  colonies,  whose  whole  energies  were 
required  to  overcome  the  natural  difficulties  of  their  situation. 

I3y  the  "assiento"  treaty,  the  privileges  of  which  were  made  over 
to  the  celebrated  South  Sea  Company,  Spain  conceded  to  England 
a  limited  right  to  transport  slaves  into  the  colonies  of  the  former 
nation.  This  gave  great  impetus  to  the  traffic,  and  so  far  was  the 
community  blinded  by  present  interest  to  the  claims  of  humanity 
and  true  policy,  that  it  was  generally  "accounted  a  genteel  employ- 
ment," reflecting  no  discredit  upon  those  who  systematically  pursued 
it.  It  is  a  singular  thing  how  far  the  opinions  of  men,  and  how 
much  farther  their  conduct,  receive  direction  from  custom.  How- 
ever much  we  may  condemn  the  evils  of  a  system,  before  denouncing 
its  individual  supporters,  we  should  do  well  to  inquire  what  would 
have  been  our  own  course  of  conduct  had  we  passed  our  lives  subject 
to  the  same  influences,  and  dependent  upon  the  same  interests, 
Statistics  of  the  proportion  of  those  who  have  freed  their  slaves, 
during  their  oxen  Uves,  from  conscientious  scruples,  as  compared  with 
the  whole  slave-holding  population,  would  furnish  every  man  with 
a  fair  criterion  for  estimating  the  extent  of  his  own  disinterestedness, 
^rhe  treatment  of  slaves  is,  of  course,  as  variant  a.s  the  character  of 
their  owners,  but  where  the  institution  of  slavery  exists,  all,  with  a 
few  rare  exceptions,  who  can  avail  themselves  of  its  convenience, 
openly  support  it. 

In  the  Northern  United  States  it  existed  until  the  influx  of  free 
labourers  reduced  the  value  of  slave-labour,  and  created  a  major- 
ity in  the  community  of  those  whose  interests  were  directly  opposed 
to  the  continuance  of  the  system.  "VVe  may  venture  to  predict  that 
no  other  influence  than  this  will  ever  avail  to  produce  a  similar 
result  in  the  southern  states.  Self  interest,  when  directly  appealed 
to,  must  ever  prevail  with  the  majority,  until  mankind  shall  have 


i-«iiyfp 


COLONIAL    POLICY. 


226 


rial  change  from  tie  Deriod  nf  ,k  ™™.'''  ""^  ""dwgone  no  male- 
da.  Th!  extenetf  C.^;V„'Tltr  Ctt  '°  *'  ";-' 
the  convenience  of  lesal  mnX...  u        •",  ■'^  ^    °°  P'oorad,  and 

ths  «"fortnnate,  LXlt  o^/r.l,  'f  5""  °''""'^'''  *>»' 
cred  by  the  same  sped    ff  .Xl'l'*  ta  ^    '"'^  T  P"' 

rrcet^r-i^S'-'^T'*^^^^^^^^ 

clildren  kidnappeTw  Znlltr  Ta  I"  f  ™'  "™'-  *^'"'  ™ 
™de  regulatioL'  -^f olT  ^/st:.:'":?,;  '"^  T 
native  land;*  one  tribe  may  yet  as  ofl  1 1  "  '"  *"' 

lie  French  and  Spanish  colonic.  2  R  '°  f  "«1  sk  bottoms,  to 
lows.  "We  ,hall  n'ot  err  ^ry "nch  i?  foTthf  T'""*  '"'  '* 
tl.e  prohibition  of  the  slav/tr^de  hv  the  *"  "'."'"y  P''''"'"'' «o 
m,  „c  assume  the  nnmbe   tpo^ej  by  thfr  vT^""'  l" 

of  dollars  "'     ^  ^  '^'^^  ^'^"^  "°^  ^^^  '^'"^  f«"r  hundred  millions 
The  question  as  to  the  exact  bearing  of  the  laws  of  England  upon 

hou'ever,  was  about  to  le^wll ,'  Tu  '"  ^"'■^"'"  *"■■ ''™-    ^'  ^he  vendor, 

brother  company,  an     wa'prtr         T"  'f"™"''  *'"^'  '"^  "^'■^'''  "^^P  ^'^^ 
Rev.  John  Newton  who  wl^         ^     T'^  ""'^^''"  ''""^'"^•^  ^^''^h  *he  rest.    The 

bought  ano  «oId  in''   e  s^lir  "'".  ""l  """^''^'^  ""  '^"■■'^'^  "^  ^'^'P'  -  '"--1^ 
week  k  ended."  "'""''  '''"^  P*^^"''"P''  '"  "^e  -same  ve,s«.,.l,  before  the 


226 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


the  subject  of  slavery,  was  long  a  questio  vexata.  The  institution 
had  a  ^adual  origin  by  custom,  scarcely  recognized,  and  never 
directly  supported  by  legislative  enactments.  In  the  courts  great 
difference  of  opinion  prevailed,  but  the  general  legality  of  the  system 
was  maintained  by  their  decisions,  it  being  declared  a  valid  custom. 
As  has  been  remarked,  such  a  custom  would  hardly  possess  all  the 
requisites  for  validity  laid  down  by  Blackstone,  viz:  that  it  should 
be  a  "good  custom,"  for  "mains  usus  aholendus  est;"  that  it  should 
have  existed  "so  long  that  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the 
contrary;"  that  it  should  have  been  "continued,"  without  inter- 
ruption; that  it  should  be  "peaceable,"  "reasonable,"  "certain" 
"compulsory,"  and  "consistent." 

About  the  middle  of  the  past  century,  the  slave-trade,  freed  from 
restrictive  laws,  recognized  in  its  legality  by  decisions  of  courts,  and 
open  to  every  adventurer,  flourished  to  an  extent  never  known  before 
or  since.  The  trade  was  the  object  of  special  attention  to  the  British 
government,  by  which  the  forts  on  the  coast  of  Africa  were  main- 
tained. Slaves  were  even  allowed  to  be  taken  to  England,  and  the 
right  of  their  masters  to  hold  them  in  servitude  on  British  soil  was 
definitely  acknowledged  by  the  most  able  judicial  authorities. 

Notwithstanding  the  immense  importation  of  negroes,  the  constant 
call  for  labourers  was  met,  especially  in  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania, 
by  the  immigration  of  apprentices,  or  "redemptioners,"  being  whitea 
of  the  poorer  class,  who  were  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years. 
To  these,  grants  of  land  and  temporary  supplies  were  secured  by 
law  at  the  end  of  their  term,  but  during  its  continuance  they  were 
substantially  in  the  condition  of  slaves. 


THE  AMEEICAW  EEVOLUTIOJV. 


CHAPTEK  I. 


"r„::""^-^"^»™»'™    w";r" 
vainly  has  the  search  CSmTf  ""?'  """^  ''"'  ""■'=''  "™ 
In  a  question  between  T„„  „    mams.known  as  the  law  of  nations. 

viW  i.  be,  at  .he  sameWp«e Lb  f     Of  ShX"  ,'^"'"  ■'"°- 

perhaps  tlie  most  unsettled  Lth,,  ."' l""'""^  questions, 

I.  was  said  by  Cehi  i„  nS°.T'°«  ^  "«'"'  »'  «'l°°« 

^  be  released  f^^leT;;"  o^fthtta^:  7^ »"^^^^  "«'' 

.bonever.ht;tehrw;tdi:£:'"°^°"''    ''"P'^' '^'"' 
•»  stand  alone,  the  right  folW^  ;, "on"  ""J'-":  *e  power, 

that  of  a  child  spmL  ..i        i-  ^®  ^^®  ^«  ^'^'^ar  to 

nature  he  wm  do  th^wrenr  f"  ^'"^'""f  ^^^^^^^-^  ^'^  ^  «*-*«  of 

arbitral  er^ys-^^^  forTr"  "'  "^*^^"^^'  ^  *™«  ^^  b«- 
no  such  tLe  has  been  ^r  1  K  ^'»t';T*'°"-  "^^  ^^^^^^^  «t-^««. 
must  always  depend  nno  ?''^'''^''^'  ^^'"'^'"^  ^*«  "^'^^^^'^^^ 

whichthere  is  ITw  P°^.*^"'!,*'""^  "^  ^''''  ^«^  ^^^  decision  of 
IS,  as  before  mentioned,  no  tribunal.     The  question  must 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 


228 


THE    PEOPLE'S    BOOK    OF    HISTORY. 


always  remain  merely  a  question  of  ability,  until  the  Utopian  theory 
of  an  international  code  and  court  shall  have  been  reduced  to 
practice. 

The  opinion  of  the  world  has  seldom,  if  ever,  been  called  to  be 
passed  upon  the  violent  rupture  of  the  connection  between  a  parent 
state  and  its  colony,  while  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  were  in  the 
enjoyment  of  equal  privileges  and  favour  with  those  of  the  former. 
A  feeling  of  affection  and  natural  pride  commonly  causes  them  to 
cling  to  the  land  of  their  parentage  until  a  long  course  of  extortion 
and  oppression  has  rendered  the  tie  too  onerous  to  be  endured. 

In  America,  the  English  colonies  had  submitted — not,  it  is  true 
without  murmurs — to  the  most  arbitrary  restrictions  upon  manuflic- 
tures  in  which  they  might  profitably  have  engaged,  imposed  simply 
to  compel  importation  from  England.  A  steady,  and,  in  most  cases 
an  effectual  stand  had  been  made  against  the  reiterated  demand  of  a 
fixed  salary  for  the  royal  governors.  Burdensome  restrictions  upon 
foreign  trade  were  protested  against,  and  extensively  evaded  by 
contraband  trafl&c.  This  gave  occasion  for  arbitrary  proceedings  by 
the  officers  of  the  customs  in  searching  for  smuggled  goods.  Their 
conduct,  in  this  respect,  appearing  to  be  illegal,  they  sought  the  aid 
of  the  superior  courts  of  law,  and  "  writs  of  assistance,"  in  the  nature 
of  search-warrants,  were  accordingly  issued.  The  power  of  the  court 
to  issue  these  writs  was  called  in  question,  and  tested  in  Massachu- 
chusetts,  in  1761.  The  eloquent  James  Otis,  and  the  learned  jurist, 
Oxenbridge  Thatcher,  argued  successfully  against  their  validity. 

The  question,  by  this  time,  had  come  to  be  widely  agitated,  as  to 
the  probable  tendency  of  the  continual  encroachments  upon  the  lib- 
erties of  the  colonies.  The  legislatures  of  the  different  provinces, 
elected  by  a  system  more  nearly  approaching  universal  suffrage 
than  any  ever  known  in  England,  indulged  in  freedom  of  thought 
and  expression,  denounced  as  treasonable  and  rebellious  in  the  parent- 
country.  The  duties  and  imposts  which  had  been  submitted  to  for 
along  term  of  years  as  being  "regulations  of  trade,"  for  the  protection 
of  the  British  "West  India  islands,  and  other  collateral  purposes,  and, 
therefore,  within  the  proper  jurisdiction  of  the  board  of  trade,  when 
directed  immediately  towards  the  enlargement  of  revenue,  excited 
universal  disaffection  and  indignation. 

The  recent  wars  had  enormously  increased  the  public  debt,  and 
English  politicians  were  busily  engaged  in  framing  schemes  by 
which  the  American  colonies  should  share  the  burden  of  expense 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  229 

incurred,  as  was  averred,  expressly  for  their  benefit.  On  the  other 
hand  It  was  clauned  that  the  colonies  had  already  contributed  more 
than  their  proportion  towards  these  expenses;  that,  being  frequently 
the  seat  of  war,  they  had,  in  other  respects,  felt  its  calamities  Z 
more  heavily  than  the  people  of  England;  and  that  the  latter  coun- 
try by  reason  of  Its  immense  income  from  the  restricted  colonial 
trade,  was  as  directly  and  pecuniarily  interested  in  maintaining  and 
protec  ing  the  provinces  from  foreign  encroachment  as  were  the 
inhabitants  themselves. 

It  was  moreover,  evident  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  man 
to  foretell  to  what  extremes  government  might  eventually  proceed 
m  the  imposition  of  taxes  upon  a  distant  community,  in  no  way 
represented  in  the  legislature,  whose  condition  and  capabilities  could 
never  be  fuHy  understood  in  England,  and  whose  growing  resources 
would  indubitably  be  met  by  a  still  more  rapid  increase  of  exaction. 
What  had  been  accomplished,  had  been  by  sufferance,  and  under 
protest;  it  remained  for  the  open  extension  of  duties  for  revenue 
purposes,  and  the  attempted  imposition  of  a  direct  tax,  to  rouse  to 
flame  the  discontent  already  kindled. 

In  the  spring  of  1764,  George  Grenville,  chancellor  of  the  exche- 
quer, introduced  and  carried  an  act  in  alteration  of  the  former  rate 
of  imposts  upon  West  India  goods,  &c.,  by  which,  while  the  duties 
on  certain  articles  were  reduced,  the  restrictions  were  extended  to 
French  and  East  India  produce,  and  to  various  foreign  articles  of 
luxury.    The  anticipated  difficulty  of  enforcing  the  new  tariff  was 
met  by  a  provision  extending  the  powers  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
courts  of  admiralty.     At  the  same  time,  he  laid  before  pariiament  a 
proposal,  to  be  acted  upon  at  a  future  session,  for  the  enlargement 
of  the  revenue  by  the  collection  of  duties  upon  stamped  paper. 
Ihere  seems,  at  this  period,  to  have  been  scarcely  the  shadow  of 
opii^sition  in  the  British  legislature,  to  the  general  principle  of  the 
right  to  impose  discretionary  taxes  upon  the  colonies.     One  principal 
object  m  the  scheme  for  levying  a  direct  and  additional  assessment, 
was  to  provide  means  for  the  permanent  support  of  a  military  estab- 
lishment in  America;  thus  to  compel  the  people  to  furnish  means 
or  their  own  enslavement,  and  for  the  enforcing  of  whatever  future 
yrannical  enactments  might  result  from  the  necessities  or  avarice  of 
the  liritish  government. 

The  "sugar-act,"  as  the  new  law  respecting  customs  was  called 
excited  the  utmost  dissatisfaction,  especially  in  he  northern  colonies-^       I 


280 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


a  feeling  heightened  and  extended  by  the  intimation  of  the  intended 
stamp  act,  which  accompanied  its  passage.  The  subject  was  dis- 
cussed  in  the  colonial  legislatures,  and  letters  of  instruction  were 
prepared  for  their  agents  in  England,  breathing  the  strongest  spirit 
of  opposition.  In  these  debates,  in  the  petitions  and  remonstrances 
forwarded  to  the  home  government,  and  in  the  writings  of  Otis 
Thatcher,  and  other  distinguished  or  rising  politicians,  the  same 
principles  were  strenuously  maintained  and  ably  argued.  Appeals 
to  every  man's  individual  sense  of  justice;  reference  to  rights  secured 
by  magna  charta,  by  the  special  charters  of  the  provinces,  and  by 
the  maxims  of  English  common  law;  and  representations  of  the 
extent  to  which  experience  had  shown  that  the  colonies  would 
assume  their  just  share  of  the  burden  of  government,  were  urged 
with  zeal,  energy,  and  ability. 

Few,  if  any,  yet  spoke  of  open  resistance  to  the  power  of  parlia- 
ment, but  succeeding  events  proved  that  public  sentiment  must 
have  been  rapidly  preparing  for  such  an  extremity. 


CEAPTEH   IL 


THE  STAMP  ACT:    ARGUMENT  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS:  PASS- 
AGE OF  THE   BILL:   ITS  EFFECT  IN  THE  COLONIES.— RESOLU- 
TIONS IN  THE  VIRGINIA  ASSEMBLY. — PATRICK  HENRY.— 
PROCEEDINGS  IN  MASSACHUSETTS:    POPULAR  TUMULTS: 
RESIGNATION    OF    THE    STAMP    OFFICERS. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1766,  the  important  act,  providing  for 
the  increase  of  revenue  by  stamp  duties  in  America,  was  introduced 
into  the  House  of  Commons.  By  its  provisions  all  legal  documents, 
promissory  notes,  deeds,  commercial  papers,  official  certificates,  &c.,' 
&c.,  must  be  written  upon  paper  that  had  received  a  government 
stamp,  and  on  which  fixed  duties  had  been  paid.  Of  all  that  was 
said  in  argument  upon  the  merits  of  the  bill,  nothing  excited  more 
general  attention,  in  the  community,  than  a  short  speech  by  Colonel 
Isaac  Barrd 

This  member  had  seen  service  in  America,  during  the  French  war, 
and,  familiar  himself  with  the  character  and  condition  of  the  people,' 


be  intended 
«t  was  dis- 
iction  were 
'ngest  spirit 
nonstrances 
gs  of  Otis, 
1,  the  same 
•  Appeals 
;hts  secured 
3es,  and  by 
ons  of  the 
nies  would 
were  urged 

r  of  parlia- 
:nent  must 


)NS:  PASS- 
•RESOLU- 
NRY. — 
[CLTS; 


yiding  for 
ntroduced 
ocuments, 
cates,  &o., 
'Vernment 
1  that  was 
ited  more 
y  Colonel 

ench  war, 
le  people, 


I 


i 


ffD     HI  S    M  I  A"  I  STK  H  S. 


%i 


--c^- 


y^T 


m 


"?4 


PjiTRl 


TJIK   AMKRICAN    KKVOLUTION.  231 

he  expressed  a  bocomir.g  disgust  at  tho  ignorance  in  regard  to  the 
colon  OS  whjcl.  chamcter,zed  the  speeches  of  several  supporters  of  the 
b  II  Ihe  eloquent  Charles  Townshend  spoke  in  its  favour,  and  eon- 
cluded  lus  renmrks  wuh  an  inquiry,  whether  the  colonists  eould 
pre«un>e  to  refuse  a.d  to  the  parent-country,  by  whose  protecti,  n 
%  alone  ha<l  nu.ntained  their  existence,  and  arrived  at  a  po.it  on 
of  comparative  wealth  and  importance.  ^ 

Ikrrd  rose,  and,  with  great  animation,  exposed  the  fallacy  of  the 
declarafon  He  pointed  out  briefly  the  real  origin  of  emigration  to 
America,  the  unaided  ellorts  and  sufferings  of  the  early  colonists  in 
est.bhshn.g  a  c.v.h^ed  community  in  the  wilderness,  the   neglect 

.at  they  had  expenenced  at  the  hands  of  the  home  government 
the>r  readiness  in  taking  up  arms  in  a  national  cause,  thdr  expenses 
and  their  losses  by  the  continued  wars.  "I  claim,"  continued  he 
"to  know  more  of  America  than  most  of  you,  having  seen  and  be^n 
conversant  with  that  country.  The  people,  I  believe,  are  a.  iZ 
loyal  as  any  subjects  the  king  has ;  but  a  people  jealous  of  thei  lib^ 
ert^s,  and  who  will  vindicate  them  if  ever  they  should  be  violator 

The  stamp  act  passed  the  house  of  commons  on  the  27th  oFeb- 
Z7L"mrT  T  ^^«h«-««f  ^-ds  concurred  without  debate; 

Oeorgt  III.  To  make  the  obnoxious  measure  more  tolerable  it 
was  provided  that  all  revenues  to  be  derived  from  it, Tould  be 
expended  exclusively  for  colonial  purposes.  Other  ioncUia  orv 
enactments,  an   the  form  of  bounties  upon  importations       dZ 

an  off.e  to  the  first  imposition  of  a  direct  tax.  It  was  generallv 
supposed,  in  England,  that  the  measure  would  be  carried  Jut  w  I^ 
out  a  sign  of  forcible  opposition. 

Tlie  tone  of  public  procedures  in  the  colonies,  upon  receint  of 
-ntelhgence  that  the  act  had  passed,  was  generally  r^oderatl  buUhl 
pas.ons  and  indignation  of  the  people^  fullyLused,  w'ere        , 

a,t> ng  ft  opportunity  to  break  forth  in  overt  resistance.     In  Vir 
gnua  the  legislature  was  in  session  at  the  time,  but  its  ieadin-^  mem- 

served  for  a  young  man,  who  had  but  recently  taken  his  seat  in 
0  house,  to  introduce  and  support  a  series  of  resolution,  s    t    ! 

ut:^fT^  •"'  ^ -"^"'""^^  ''''''''  ^''^'■•-  P'-"P-«d  invasion! 

t    a  singular  fact,  concerning  those  who,  in  all  times,  have  possessed 

tous  greatest  extent  tho  wonderful  gift  of  eloquence,  th'at  little  or  noth- 


232 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  IIISTOKY. 


iiig  lias  been  recorded  which  may  eimblo  us  to  judge  of  their  powers 
excepting  the  effect  of  their  speeches.  An  audience  curried  away  by 
admiration  and  symjiathetic  excitement,  is  in  no  Condition  to  retnetn- 
bor  and  perpetuate  the  form  of  expression  by  which  the  tumult  of 
feeling  is  aroused.  It  has  been  reserved  for  those  who,  like  Cicuro 
have  nicely  riSmodelled  their  productions  to  meet  the  cool  criticism 
of  a  reader,  to  bo  held  up  as  patterns  for  imitation.  The  iiow  of 
forcible  and  unpremeditated  words,  by  which  a  crowd  of  men  pos- 
sessing  every  variety  of  character  and  tenij)erament,  is  moved  to 
unanimity,  if  hero  and  there  reported  in  detached  sentences  loses 
all  the  force  lent  by  the  occasion,  the  state  of  mind  of  the  auditory 
and  the  manner  of  the  speaker. 

Such  has  been  the  case,  in  many  instances,  with  the  most  cele- 
brated efforts  of  Burr,  Kandolph,  and  others;  sucli,  upon  the  occa- 
sion of  which  we  have  just  spoken,  was  that  of  Patrick  Henry.  We 
are  only  told  that,  in  tones  of  bold  warning,  he  broke  forth  in  the 
heat  of  argument,  with  the  expressions:  "Ciesar  had  his  Brutus- 
Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell — and  George  the  Third"  (here  he 
was  interrupted  by  a  cry  of  Treason  I  from  the  speaker  and  many 
members,  but  he  firmly  continued) — "may  profit  by  their  example. 
If  that  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it!" 

The  resolutions  were  passed,  after  vehement  debate:  the  conclud- 
ing section,  which  read  as  follows,  by  a  majority  of  one  only:  "Re- 
solved, therefore,  that  the  General  Assembly  of  this  colony  have  the 
sole  right  and  power  to  lay  taxes  and  impositions  upon  the  inhabit- 
ants of  this  colony ;  and  that  every  attempt  to  vest  such  power  in 
any  j)erson  or  persons  whatsoever,  other  than  the  general  assembly 
aft)resaid,  has  a  manifest  tendency  to  destroy  British  as  well  aa 
American  freedom."  This  resolution  was  afterwards  struck  out 
upon  a  reconsideration,  during  the  absence  of  Henry,  but  it  had 
already  gone  abroad,  and  was  circulated  throughout  the  colonies. 

In  Massachusetts,  a  more  important  measure  was  adopted,  at  the 
suggestion  of  James  Otis.  Letters  were  dispatched  to  the  general 
assend)lies  of  all  the  separate  colonies,  requesting  and  advising  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  from  each,  to  meet  at  New  York  in  the 
ensuing  month  of  October,  and  delibe-r.tc  «^^ii  what  could  be  done 
for  the  general  good  of  the  country.  No  allusion  was  made  to  any 
proposed  union  for  purposes  of  resistance,  other  than  the  organization 
of  a  "united  representation  to  implore  relief."  The  call  was  lirst 
responded  to  by  the 


lej^islalure 


>r  South  Carolina. 


THE   AMERICAN   REVULUTION. 


288 


By  tliiH  tune,  tbo  .speeches  of  Barr<5,  of  Ueury,  of  Otis,  and  others, 
the  Virg.t.m  resolutioi.H,  the  call  of  MassaehuHetts,  and  the  reiterated 
arguments  of  political  writers  on  both  sides  the  question  were 
fuMiiliur  to  the  whole  peoj.le  of  America,  and  occupied  universal 
atlfhtion.  A  question,  at  first  committed  to  the  management  of  the 
loanied  and  mlelligont,  assumed  a  new  aspect  when  brought  homo 
to  tlio  minds  of  an  excited  populace. 

Those  residents  of  the  colonies  who  had  favoured  the  passage  of 
the  act,  and  those  wlio  had  received  ai)pointment  to  the  office  of 
diHtnbution  of  stamps,  first  felt  the  weight  of  lawless  popular  indig- 
nation.  It  seemed  to  bo  generally  determined  that  all  the  stamp 
officers  should  bo  compelled  to  resign,  by  personal  violence,  should 
persuasion  fail. 

The  first  of  a  succession  of  mad  scenes— conducted,  however  sys- 
tenuitically,  and  with  deliberate  purpose-took  place  at  Boston  on 
the  14th  of  August,  (1765.)  Andrew  Oliver,  the  appointed  stamp 
distributor,  was  hung  in  effigy  upon  a  noted  tree,  known  as  the 
Boston  elm.  Tn  tlie  evening,  the  image  was  burned,  with  the  frag- 
ments of  a  building,  supposed  to  be  in  process  of  erection  for  a 
stamp  office,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  concourse.  Oliver  per- 
ceived,  from  the  demeanour  of  the  crowd,  that  his  only  safety  con- 
sisted in  comphance  with  the  popular  demand,  and  ho  resigned  his 
oflice  accordingly. 

The  office  of  the  court  of  admiralty,  rendered  obnoxious  by  the 
provisions  of  the  "sugar  act,"  was  next  attacked.  On  the  night  of 
the  26lh,  the  records  were  destroyed,  and  the  house  of  Story,  comp- 
troller of  customs,  was  broken  open,  and  his  furniture  demolished. 
Hutchinson,  the  lieutenant-governor,  suffered  similar  outra-e  upon 
his  property  on  the  same  night.  This  officer  had  become  un°popular 
from  various  circumstances,  but  the  principal  cry  against  him,  at 
this  time,  was  for  having  favoured  the  stamp  act. 

The  example  of  Massachu.setts  was  followed  in  Ehode  Island,  New 
T:ork,  and  New  Jensey,  and  with  similar  results.  The  stamp  dis- 
tributor of  Maryland  lied  from  popular  violence  to  New  York. 
On  many  of  these  occasions,  the  active  agents  were  not  the  most 
respectable  portion  of  the  community,  but,  except  where  they  over- 
stepped the  bounds  of  reason,  and  wantonly  invaded  private  prop- 
erty, their  proceedings  met  with  general  favour.  All  attempts  at 
bringing  individuals  of  the  rioters  to  account  for  the  outrages  com- 
mitted, were  soon  abandoned. 


23^ 


THE  PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF    HISTOEY. 


The  other  colonies  exhibited  the  same  state  of  public  sentiment 
and  the  officers  commissioned  to  distribute  stamps,  either  dec'n-ied 
serving,  or  gave  such  public  pledges  as  satisfied  the  people.  It  was 
plain  that  no  stamps  would  be  allowed  to  be  sold.  Ingersoll  the 
stamp  officer  for  Connecticut,  at  first  refused  to  submit  to  the  popu- 
lar requisition,  announcing  his  intention  of  submitting  the  matter  to 
the  general  assembly.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Hartford,  for  that 
purpose,  when  he  was  intercepted,  near  Wethersfield,  by  a  body  of 
some  hundreds  of  the  substantial  inhabitants  of  the  colony,  who  in 
military  array,  although  armed  only  with  staves,  required  of  him 
an  immediate  resignation.  The  object  of  the  company  was  to  avoid 
the  disagreeable  consequences  of  any  action  by  the  assembly — as  the 
colony  might  be  held  responsible  for  its  public  acts,  while,  as  indi- 
viduals, they  felt  little  apprehension  of  any  dangerous  results  from 
their  proceedings.  Ingersoll  betrayed  no  unworthy  pusillanimity; 
but  when  he  perceived  the  determination  of  the  people  to  prevent 
him  from  communicating  with  the  assembly,  and  even  to  proceed 
to  personal  violence,  should  he  refuse  to  accede  to  their  demands 
he  signed  a  written  resignation,  and,  at  the  direction  of  the  crowd 
shouted  for  "  Liberty  and  property." 

Of  the  packages  of  stamped  paper  which  arrived  in  the  country 
some  were  seized  and  destroyed  by  the  populace,  and  the  rest  re- 
mained packed  and  unnoticed. 


SESSION  OF  THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  CONGRESS:  MODERATE  TONE 
OF    ITS    PROCEEDINGS;    CONCURRENCE    OF    THE    SEPARATE 

COLONIES. — THE   STAMP    ACT   NUGATORY. THE    EJJO- 

LISH  MINISTRY. DEBATE  IN  PARLIAMENT. — SPEECH 

OF     PITT. EXAMINATION     OF     FRANKLIN. — 

REPEAL    OF    THE    STAMP    ACT. 


On  the  7th  of  October,  1765,  the  first  American  congress  assem- 
bled at  New  York.  A  regular  delegation  was  present  from  six  of 
the  colonies,  viz:  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland,  and  South  Carolina:  New  York,  Delaware,  and 


THE   AMEKICAN  REVOLUTION. 


285 


New  Jersey  were  also  represented,  although  not  bv  a  remilnr  on 
po.ntn.ent  of  their  houses  of  assembly.  ThetgL  Jelf  LTh 
Carolina,  no  having  been  in  session,  could  make  no  delegation  but 
the  cooperation  of  this  colony,  as  well  as  that  of  New  nCpsh're 
could  be  depended  npon,  in  the  work  to  be  accomplishe7  The 
assent  of  Georgia  wa    obtained  during  the  session  ^-     -^^e 

It  was  agreed  that  the  votes  should  be  taken  by  colonies,  neither 
daiming  preeminence  by  virtue  of  superior  extent  or  population 
The  congress  sat  about  three  weeks,  during  which  time  alLraZ 
of  rights,  and  petitions  and  memorials  to  the  king  and  parliament 
were  drawn  up,  debated  and  finally  agreed  to,  nearly  unanimously 
All  question  of  proposed  admission  to  representation  in  the  English 
parliament  was  abandoned  as  impracticable,  and  the  colonies,  without 
menace  or  unseemly  violence,  recapitulated  the  claims  so  often 
urged,  that  1  natural  right,  by  magna  charta,  and  their  own  private 
c  ar  ers  the  right  of  taxation,  as  well  as  that  of  the  managemen 
all  interna  government,  was  vested  in  their  own  houses  of'assem- 
b  y.  The  infringement  of  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  in  the  extension 
0  admiralty  jurisdiction,  by  the  provisions  of  the  sugar  act  was 
also  animadverted  upon.  ®  ' 

The  spirit  of  the  resolutions  and  memorials  adopted  by  congress 
met  with  a  hearty  response  from  the  people.     The  New  York  me! 
chants  agreed  to  discontinue  all  importation  from  England  until  the 
repeal  of  the  obnoxious  act.     Their  example  was  followed  exten 
sively  in  many  of  the  other  colonies,  and  plans  were  set  on  foot  for 
he  encouragement  and  support  of  domestic  manufactures,  and  for 
devising  substitutes  for  articles  of  luxury,  comfort,  or  necessitv 
hitherto  imported  from  the  old  country,  \veral  of  the  coo  S 
legislatures  commented  upon  and  approved  the  doings  of  the  con 
gress  of  deputies,  and  those  few  members  who  had  stood  aloof  foTu 
or  opposed  the  proceedings,  received  tokens  of  marked  displeasure 
from  their  fellow-members  and  constituents.  ^^pieasure 

All  attempts  to  enforce  the  stamp  act  (which  was  to  go  into  oper- 
ation on  the  St  of  November)  proved  utterly  vain,  lusiness  w4 
conducted  without  the  use  of  the  stamps,  in  defiance  of  the  rest!" 
ive  provisions  of  the  law,  and  where  this  could  not  be  done  a 
-%,  as  in  some  of  the  courts,  various  evasions  were  resorted  to 
and  suits  were  continued  or  referred  to  arbitrament.  As  yet  aU 
effort,  pomted  simply  to  the  repeal  of  the  law,  and  a  modificatioi  of 
the  obnoxious  features  of  the  provisions  for  the  levy  of  customs 


236 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OP  HISTORY. 


I 


News  of  these  proceedings,  and  of  the  turn  of  public  affairs  in 
America,  reached  England  during  the  administration  of  Rocking- 
ham. Grenville  and  his  companions  in  the  cabinet,  who  might 
have  felt  bound  to  make  use  of  every  expedient,  violent  or  politic, 
for  the  maintenance  of  an  act  so  deliberately  framed,  and  passed 
with  so  little  opposition  as  the  one  in  question,  were  out  of  office, 
and  the  new  incumbents  were  in  a  position  to  look  dispassionately 
at  the  consequences  of  persistance  in  carrying  out  the  arbitrary 
principles  recently  adopted.  The  question  wais,  indeed,  argued 
rather  as  one  of  policy  than  of  right,  for  the  great  majority  in  par- 
liament, and  in  the  cabinet,  had  hitherto  looked  upon  the  power  of 
the  former  to  lay  and  enforce  discretionary  taxes  as  beyond  dispute. 
It  was  easy  to  point  to  the  gross  inequality  of  representation  in 
England,  where  populous  towns  and  districts  had  no  share  in  the 
electoral  privilege,  ifor  precedents.  The  colonies  of  the  continental 
nations  of  Europe  presumed  to  make  no  question  as  to  the  right 
and  power  of  the  home  governments  to  impose  burdens  far  heavier, 
and  of  a  far  more  arbitrary  and  oppressive  character,  than  those  now 
complained  of;  and  it  would  be  to  the  last  degree  humiliating  to 
England,  if,  while  deaf  to  the  respectful  entreaties  of  the  provinces, 
she  should  be  swayed  from  her  course  by  the  first  threats  of  forcible 
opposition. 

In  December,  (1765,)  parliament  met,  and  the  whole  subject  was 
reconsidered  and  debated  at  length.  No  determinate  conclusion  was 
arrived  at  during  the  short  session,  and  an  adjournment  for  a  few 
weeks  gave  opportunity  for  the  transmission  of  further  intelligence 
from  the  seat  of  disturbance.  It  became  matter  of  notoriety  that, 
in  America,  the  power  of  parliament  was  universally  questioned, 
ottcn  defied,  and  that  people  began  to  speak  "in  the  most  familiar 
manner"  of  the  possibility  of  open  rupture,  and  the  probable  con- 
sccimmces  of  war  with  the  parent-country. 

At  the  January  session,  the  aged  William  Pitt  was  present,  and, 
notwithstanding  his  infirm  health,  took  an  open  stand  in  opposition 
to  ihe  (irenville  schemes  of  taxation — and  to  all  direct  taxation  of 
the  colonies  by  parliament — arguing  the  questions  at  issue  with  liis 
usual  power  and  perspicuity.  He  pointed  out  the  sophistry  of  the 
sup])orters  of  the  measures  under  examination;  in  reply  to  invec- 
ti\H's,  he  uttered  the  most  biting  sarcasms;  and,  in  plain  terms,  free 
from  technicalities,  he  maintained  the  rights  of  the  colonies,  and 
approved  their  opposition.     "I  rejoice,"  said  he,  "that  America  has 


THE  AMEKICAN   REVOLUTION. 


237 


resisted.  If  its  m.ll.ons  of  inhabitants  had  submitted,  taxes  would 
soon  have  been  kid  on  Ireland;  and  if  ever  this  natioil  should  have 
a  tyrant  for  its  k.ng,  s.x  millions  of  freemen,  so  dead  to  all  the  feel- 
ings of  liberty,  as  voluntarily  to  submit  to  be  slaves,  would  be  fit 
instruments  to  make  slaves  of  the  rest." 

That  America  could  effectually  resist  the  power  of  England  he 
bought  grossly  improbable.     "In  a  good  cause,  onasound'botto'n    ' 

atoms.  *      ..The  will  of  parliament,  properly  signified  must 

for  ever  keep  the  colonies  dependent  upon  L'overei'gn  k  ngdot 
ot  Great  Britain     But,  on  this  ground  of  the  stamp  act,  when  s" 
many  here  will  think  it  a  crying  injustice.  I  am  one  who  v  ill  lift  up 
my  hands  against  it.     In  such  a  cause  your  success  would  be  haz 
ardous.     America,  if  she  fell,  would  fall  like  the  strong  man    she 

He  coupled  these  strong  denunciations  of  the  proposed  direct 
axation  with  complete  approval  of  the  exercise  of 'uHsdicti.  Ty 
parliament  over  all  matters  of  trade  and  the  regulation  of  manufac^ 
ture,  claiming  to  perceive  "a  plain  distinction  between  taxes  I'd^^ 
or  the  purposes  of  raising  revenue,  and  duties  imposed  for  the  r  1 
ation  of  trade  for  the  accommodation  of  the  subjeL,  although  inX 
consequences,  some  revenue  may  accidentally  arise 'from  tlfe     tter" 
A  arge  majority^^both  of  the  commons  and  of  the  house  of  lord 
II  favoured  the  Eng  ish  claims  in  their  broadest  extent,  and  a 
res  kition  was  prepared,  declaring  that  the  powers  of  the  k  ng  and 

].n  .t.  When  the  question  of  the  stamp  act  was  brought  directly 
before  the  house  of  lords,  those  opposed^o  repeal,  prefa  1  by  a 
-f  majority.  In  the  other  house,  the  motion  to  repeal  was  on' 
sKored,  rather  as  a  question  of  present  policy,  than'^  a  "s  of 
.re  rights  and  powers.  B^jamin  Franklin,' at  this  time  o,  of 
tl>e  most  prominent  among  the  public  supporters  of  freedom  in 
Ainenca,  underwent  a  long  examination  at  the  bar  of  the  h  L 

.clear  and  lucid  exposition  of  the  American  claims,  his  accurate 
sta  .s  ica  knowledge,  and  his  acquaintance  with  th^  cIk  racier  s  S 
an  local  politics  of  the  colonies,  enabled  him  to  Lo!;  m::i:  I  J 
«lK,n  the  question  and  appear  to  have  produced  a  powerful  ell?ct 
He  positively  insisted  that  the  enforcement  of  the  stamp  act  was 
,.  *  Bancroft. 


238 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


physically  impossible.  "Suppose,"  said  he,  "a  military  force  sent 
into  America;  they  will  find  nobody  in  arms.  What  are  they  then 
to  do?  They  cannot  force  a  man  to  take  stamps  who  chooses  to  do 
without  them.  They  will  not  find  a  rebellion :  they  may,  indeed 
make  one."  When  the  attempt  was  made  to  remove  all  distinction 
between  direct  taxes  and  imposts  on  importations,  by  the  suggestion 
that  these  were  often  articles  necessary  for  life;  he  replied,  "The 
people  may  refuse  commodities,  of  which  the  duty  makes  a  part  of 
the  price;  but  an  internal  tax  is  forced  from  them  without  their 
consent."  And  again:  "I  do  not  know  a  single  article  imported 
into  the  northern  colonies,  but  what  they  can  either  do  without  or 
make  themselves."* 

The  repeal — coupled,  however,  with  the  declaration  before  referred 
to,  that  parliament  still  retained  absolute  power  in  this  as  in  all  other 
colonial  legislation — was  carried  by  a  very  decided  majority.  The 
house  of  lords  reluctantly  concurred,  and  the  bill  received  the  royal 
assent  on  the  18th  of  March,  1766.  The  result  gave  great  satisfiic- 
tion  to  the  commercial  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  England;  and 
the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  in  America  was  a  signal  for  universal 
acclamation  and  rejoicing. 


CEAPTEH   I?, 

INTERVAL    OF    QUIET.  —  NEW    TAXES    ON    IMPORTATIONS,— 
NON-IMPORTATION    AGREEMENT. CIRCULAR    OF    MAS- 
SACHUSETTS.—  RIOTS  AT  BOSTON.  —  ASSEMBLIES  DIS- 
SOLVED.— TROOPS  ORDERED  TO  BOSTON.  —  MEASURES 
OF  THE  BRITISH  GOVERNMENT. FATAL  ENCOUN- 
TER BETWEEN  THE  TROOPS  AND  POPULACE  AT 
BOSTON.  —  CONCESSIONS  OF  PARLIAMENT. 

A  SHORT  period  of  comparative  repose  ensued  upon  the  settlement 
of  the  stamp  question.  Those  who  had  suffered  in  the  popular  dis- 
turbances in  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  were  indemnified  for 
their  losses  by  the  acts  of  the  general  assemblies.  In  the  latter 
colony,  however,  this  concession  to  the  royalists  was  accompanied 

*  Bftncroft. 


I 


THE   AMEHICAN   EEVOLUTION.  ggg 

by  a  general  act  of  amnesty  for  the  protection  of  the  individual 
riotejs.    The  "sugar  act,"  somewhat  modified  during  tlTlnr 
of  parliament,  still  remained  a  bone  of  contention  '  '"  '"""" 

Under  the  Pitt  administration,  which  succeeded  that  of  Eockin^- 
ham,  Townshend,  Grenville's  staunchest  supporter   hl}^  T    m 
of  chancellor  of  the  excheauer     Tn  ih^T      PP°™  '  .^^^^  t^e  office 
•  ;i  *v,        1.        '^■^^aequer,     in  this  capacity,  he  introducpd  anr^ 
carried  through  a  new  system  of  duties  for  the  colonies  by  wMch 
imposts  were  laid  upon  various  articles  hitherto  exemn       A  J. 
of  these  were  of  British  production,  as  p^,  pape7glasf  L"    A 
specific  duty  o   three  pence  a  pound  was  laid  ^n  tea  '  Tre'bm  wat 

external  taxation.     This  and  other  odious   measures    previouslv 
passed,  respecting  the  maintenance  of  a  standing  arm/  and  te 
quartering  of  troop,  upon  the  inhabitants  during  their  rTmov^lfr! 
place  to  place,  stirred  up  all  former  ill  feelingf  tL  „"ou  ^^^^^ 

:pTtSo;:e''p^^^'"^  ^^^^"^^^  ^•^  ^--^'  ^'-"^-^ 

Z  a  d2  It  "'^'"  ^"^"^^  ^''''^'  ^-  -  --  defensible 
In  October,  1767,  a  movement  was  commenced  at  Boston  at  a 
public  meeting,  for  the  encouragement  of  native  manufacfures'  and 
the  organization  of  a  system  of  non-importation  from  Enlnd  A 
more  important  step  was  taken  at  the  session  of  the  general  ler^ 

t:'llTtT'  ^"  ^'^  ^-;--ding ;  a  circulfr-ltr  Zg, 
by  a  vote  of  the  house,  prepared,  and  dispatched  to  all  the  othei 

t^ltZ^Z^'^' ''' ''''-''' '-  -^-  '^  -^^-  ^^  ^« 

Foremost  in  these  popular  proceedings,  were  two  men  of  widelv 
fferent  character,  age,  and  worldly  condition.     Samuel  Adams 
th   poor  but  uncompromising  patriot,  whose  bold,  e^et  and 
able  disquisitions  upon  American  rights  and  poli  y  had  a  readv 

ft  ne  and  an  ardent  temperament.     A  small  vessel  belongC  to 
e  latter  was  seized,  in  the  month  of  June,  1768,  as  havirbeen 

Intt  b'  ""•  ^^'^""^^^^"-s  of  revenue-officers  recently 
r for  .. ^  ^T'"''  '''.'  '^'  «»P-'"tendence  of  customs,  &c.- 
Z^''  "^'  P"^"^'°^  '^^"^  ''^  -^b  in  one  of  the  forts  of 

The  assembly  of  Massachusetts  was  required  by  the  governor 
Bernard,  ^oj-.d^o^eircular  before,moiLned,  id,  upoTXal 


240 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HI8T0BY. 


by  a  large  vote,  was  dissolved.  A  favourable  reception  of  the  rebel- 
lious message,  produced  similar  results  in  Virginia,  Maryland,  and 
Georgia.  The  New  York  assembly,  proving  refractory  upon  the 
question  of  quartering  British  troops,  was  also  dismissed  by  the 
governor.  In  Massachusetts,  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  towns 
unable  to  speak  through  legal  representatives,  elected  delegates  to  a 
convention,  whose  proceedings?,  if  unaccompanied  with  legitimate 
authority,  might,  at  least,  show  to  the  world  the  true  sentimentb  of 
the  people. 

For  enforcing  the  revenue  laws,  as  well  as  for  the  preservation  of 
order  in  the  turbulent  city  of  Boston,  General  Gage,  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  British  forces  in  America,  ordered  thither  two  regiments 
of  regulars  from  Halifax.  He  had  received  previous  instructions  to 
this  effect  from  government,  but  it  was  not  then  supposed  that  so 
large  a  force  would  be  necessary  to  effect  the  purpose.  The  author- 
ities refused  to  provide  quarters  for  the  troops,  alleging  that  there 
was  accommodation  for  them  at  the  regular  barracks;  but  Gage 
was  determined  to  quarter  them  within  the  town,  and  accordingly  a 
portion  encamped  on  the  common,  and  most  of  the  others  took 
possession  of  the  state-house.  Cannon  were  planted  in  front,  and 
an  ostentatious  display  of  military  force  served  to  enrage  and  em- 
bitter the  feelings  of  the  inhabitants. 

Accommodations  for  the  soldiery  could  only  be  procured  by  an 
appropriation  of  the  army  fands,  which  was  accordingly  made, 
and  full  accounts  of  the  fractious  spirit  of  the  colony  were  forwarded 
to  England.  The  news  excited  a  great  degree  of  public  indignation; 
parliament  proceeded  to  pass  resolutions  of  censure  against  the  colo- 
nies, and — a  matter  of  graver  importance — voted  instructions  to  the 
respective  governors,  for  the  seizure  and  t\  nsportation  to  England, 
for  trial,  of  the  leaders  in  disloyalty. 

The  legislature  of  Virginia,  at  the  session  in  May,  1769,  remon- 
strated against  this  infringement  of  the  rights  of  persons,  which, 
although  sanctioned  by  an  ancient  law  respecting  treasons  committed 
abroad,  was  opposed  to  all  principles  of  liberty  and  justice.  Eeso- 
lutions  upon  this  topic,  embracing  also  a  general  proclamation  of 
colonial  rights,  were  transmitted  to  the  other  colonies.  The  conse- 
quence was  a  speedy  dissolution  of  the  assembly  by  the  governor, 
Lord  Botetourt.  The  non-importation  agreement  was,  shortly  after 
this,  extensively  adopted,  both  in  Virginia  and  other  of  the  south- 
ern pi  evinces. 


r" 


THE   AMEBICAN   REVOLUTION. 


241 


The  Massachusetts  legislature,  at  tbe  same  period,  refused  posi- 
tively to  appropriate  funds  for  the  army  expenses.    Eequisition  wa« 
made  for    he  removal  of  the  troops,  and  upon  the  governor's  re- 
sponse that  this  was  beyond  the  pale  of  his  authority,  all  legislative 
business  was  stayed,  with  the  exception  of  iqdignant  discussion  of 
the  public  wrongs.     In  March  of  the  following  year,  the  mutual 
hatred  between  the  citizens  of  Boston  and  the  hired  soldierv  auar- 
tered  among  them,  aggravated  by  insults  and  injuries  on  either  side 
broke  out  m  open  hostilities.     On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  the 
month  a  small  body  of  soldiers,  commanded  by  a  Captain  Preston 
uas  attacked  by  a  mob,  and,  without  orders  from  their  officer  fired 
iipon  the  crowd,  in  self-defence.     Four  persons  were  killed  by  the 
discharge,  and  a  number  were  wounded.     The  rage  of  the  citizens  at 
this  occurrence,  was  so  great,  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  remove 
he  troops  from  the  town  to  the  barracks  at  Castle  William      This 
being  effected,  those  who  had  perished  in  the  riot  were  buried  with 
great  ceremony,  the  whole  population  taking  part  in  the  exercises  of 
the  occasion,  as  ,f  m  commemoration  of  some  national  calamity 

The  soldiers  implicated  in  the  alleged  massacre  were  indicted  for 

Zll  ^/^  ''T  T  "  ^T  '"^  '"'P'^*'^^  ^"^^'  b«'"g  -bly  defended 
by  John  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy,  both  of  whom  were  known  as 
ardent  advocates  of  the  popular  cause.  Conclusive  evidence  was 
foundagainst  twoonly  of  the  accused;  these  were  convicted  of  man- 
slaughter, and  received  but  a  light  punishment 

In  New  York,  the  temporary  ascendency  of  the  "  moderate  party  " 
resulted  in  submission  to  the  requisitions  of  the  quartering  act,  but 

he  same  state  of  feeling  existed  there  as  in  Boston  between  the 
troops  and  the  populace. 

Some  concession  wiis  made  by  parliament,  in  1770,  to  the  demands 
of  the  colonies  and  the  petitions  of  the  English  merchants.     The 

uties  on  artic^s  of  British  produce,  &c.,  included  in  the  list  of  com- 
mouties  taxable  under  the  regulations  introduced  by  Townshend, 

Z  .  r^'^'rp'^:  '"  "^"''""  ''^  ^'"'"^  ^°^^^''  ^^^'^  the  exception  o^ 
hat  on  tea.  This  was  retained  simply  as  an  assertion  of  principle; 
for,  while  parliament  evidently  desired  to  conciliate  and  assvst  the 
Amencan  colonies  it  was  plain  that  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
of  i.ngland  and  their  representatives  still  retained  all  their  fornier 
Ideas  respecting  the  sovereign  power  of  the  home  government 


242 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OV  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER   7. 


PARTY    SPIRIT    IN   THE   COLON  I ES— WHIG    AND   TORT— THg 

REGULATORS  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA.  — HUTCH  INSON,  GOVERNOR 

OP   MASSACHUSETTS.  —  DESTRUCTION   OP  THE  0A8PEE.— 

SYSTEM     OF     POLITICAL     COMMUNICATION     llETWEEN 

THE  COLONIES. — TEA   DISPATCHED  TO  AMERICA  BY 

THE    EAST    INDIA    COMPANY.  —  REFUSAL    OP  TUB 

COLONISTS    TO     RECEIVE     IT.  —  VIOLENT    PRQ- 

CEBDIN08    AT     BOSTON:      CLOSURE     OF    THE 

PORT.  —  EXTENSION    OF    CANADA. 


The  bitterness  of  party  spirit,  by  this  time,  througliout  the  colo- 
nies, was  added  to  that  of  jealousy  and  resistance  to  oppression.  The 
loyalists,  under  the  name  of  tories,  and  the  whigs,  who  constituted 
the  popular  party,  looked  upon  each  other  with  distrust  and  indi<r. 
nation.  Between  neighbours  and  former  friends,  and  between 
members  of  the  same  family,  a  strife  was  engendered,  .rancorous  in 
proportion  to  the  depth  of  either  party's  convictions. 

The  names  of  whig  and  tory  were  applied,  at  this  period,  to  two 
parties  in  the  Carolinas ;  the  first,  self-styled  regulators,  who  origin- 
ally organized  themselves  as  d  party  for  the  summary  punishment 
of  criminals,  in  a  country  where  the  population  was  sparse,  and  the 
course  of  justice  tardy;  the  second,  their  opponent.'^,  known  also  by 
other  titles.     In  North  Carolina,  those  calling  themselves  "regu- 
lators," consir'ed  of  ignorant  inhabitants  of  the  more  barren  dia-    ' 
tricts,  and  were  simply  combined  to  resist  all  civil  authority    The 
difficulties  which  arose  from  the  existence  of  such  a  party,  resulted    j 
in  actual,  though  brief,  civil  war.     In  May,  1771,  "Governor Trjon,     ' 
at  the  head  of  a  body  of  volunteers,  marched  into  the  disaffected    ' 
counties.     The  regulators  assembled  in  arms,  and  an  action  was    ' 
fought  at  Alamance,  on  the  Haw,  near  the  head-waters  of  Cape    - 
Fear  river,  in  which  some  two  hundred  were  left  dead  upon  the    I 
field.     Out  of  a  large  number  taken  prisoners,  six  were  executed  for    i 
high  treason."*     The  good-will  of  this  turbulent  faction  was  conoil-    • 
iated  by  a  subsequent  governor,  Joseph  Martin.  I 
In  the  north,  causes  of  discontent  with  English  authority  were    I 
•  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States.                                  j 
___                                 J 


THE    AMERICAN    KEVOLUTION,  £43 

multiplied,  notwithstanding  the  concessions  of  parliament  Hutch- 
inson upon  receiving  the  appointment  of  governor  of  Massachusetts 
in  1771,  was  made  independent  of  the  colony  by  the  settlement  upon 
lum  of  a  large  salary  to  be  paid  by  the  crown.  This  gave  great  dis- 
satisfaction, inasmuch  as  the  governor  and  colony  were  no  longer 
bound  by  a  common  interest.  The  measure,  it  is  true,  had  been 
provoked  by  a  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  assembly  to  make  the 
usual  appropriation  for  the  governor's  salary. 

Fulfilment  of  the  non-importation  agreement  had  been  gradually 
relaxed  in  most  of  the  colonies,  except  in  regard  to  the  one  article 
of  tea,  which,  being  alone  retained  of  that  list  made  out  for  revenue 
purposes  merely,  stood  as  a  representative  of  all  the  rest     The  old 
regulations  of  trade,  as  provided  for  in  the  "sugar  act,"  were  still 
enforced,  and  a  number  of  vessels,  armed  for  the  revenue  service 
were  employed  on  the  coast.     One  of  these,  named  the  Gaspee,  had 
become  particularly  obnoxious  to  the  people  of  Rhode  Island     She 
interfered  most  inconveniently  in  their  smuggling  transactions;  and 
her  officers,  moreover,  in  carrying  out  their  instructions,  had,  by 
arrogance  and  arbitrary  conduct,  excited  popular  ill-will     While 
stationed  in   Narragansett  Bay,  this  vessel,  by  a  stratagem,  was 
deeoyed  upon  a  shoal,  and,  as  she  lay  aground,  was  attacked  and 
tT^r^  ^  P^^  ^'■^'^  Providence,  on  the  night  of  June  10th, 
1772.    Great  efforts  were  made  to  secure  the  punishment  of  the 
perpetrators  of  this  act  of  violence,  but  they  were  so  shielded  by  the 
favour  of  the  people,  that  no  conclusive  evidence  could  be  obtained 
against  them,  although   they  were  identified  by  common  report 
Ihe  appointment  of  a  special  court  for  their  trial,  and  the  offer  of  a 
large  reward  for  evidence,  alike  failed  to  bring  the  offenders  to 
punishment. 

Agitation  of  political  questions,  throughout  this  period,  was  con- 
tmuaJ  y  kept  up  by  private  associations  and  corresponding  commit- 
ees  of  different  towns  and  districts.     This  movement,  originating 
n  New  England,  led  to  a  more  general  system  of  union,  in  conse° 
quence  of  action  by  the  Virginia  legislature.     A  copy  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  Massachusetts  assembly,  in  which  the  controversy 
with  the  governor  also  involved  general  discussion  of  grievances, 
liaving  been  forwarded  to  that  body,  a  committee  was  regularl^ 
appointed  to  inquire  into  the  questions  at  issue,  and  to  communicate 
thereupon  with  the  other  colonies.     The  assembly  was.  in  conse- 
quence, dissolved  by  the  governor,  but  the  committee  proceeded, 


244 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF   HISTORY. 


notwithstanding,  to  fulfil  thoir  instructions.  This  example  was 
followed  by  the  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Rhbde  Island,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland.  Such  an  organ- 
ization proved  of  inestimable  .service  at  the  commencement  of  the 
contest  upon  which  the  country  was  about  to  enter.  A  publication 
by  Doctor  Franklin,  then  agent  for  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  for 
several  other  of  the  colonies,  in  England,  of  certain  letters  written 
by  Hutchinson  and  other  loyalists,  excited  great  indignation.  These 
letters,  which  were  never  intended  to  meet  the  public  eye,  spoke 
conteinptuou.sly  of  the  popular  party,  and  recommended  stringent 
measvi  i  es  for  coercion. 

Opportunity  was  not  long  wanting  for  open  demonstration  of  the 
true  state  of  feeling  in  the  colonies.  As  already  mentioned,  the 
agreement  to  import  no  tea  had  been  generally  observed,  and  the 
East  India  Company,  receiving  no  orders  from  American  merchants 
made  the  necessary  arrangements  for  carrying  on  the  trade  by  their 
own  agents.  Consignees  were  appointed  in  the  more  important  sea- 
ports, and  a  number  of  vessels  were  freighted  and  dispatched.  In 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  these  agents,  alarmed  at  the  threats 
of  the  people,  thought  it  the  part  of  safety  not  to  enter  upon  the 
duties  of  their  nopointment,  and  the  vessels  were  obliged  to  return 
to  England  with  their  cargoes.  In  Boston  the  consignees  refused 
to  resign  their  agency,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  attendant 
upon  their  contumacy,  several  vessels  arrived  loaded  with  tea. 

A  considerable  body  of  citizens  stationed  themselves  as  a  watch, 
to  preclude  the  possibility  of  a  secret  landing,  and  the  captain  and 
consignees  were  notified  that  the  only  safe  course  for  them  to  pur- 
sue, was  immediately  to  comply  with  the  popular  demand,  that  the 
tea  be  sent  back  to  England.  But  upon  application  at  the  custom- 
house, no  clearance  could  be  effected  without  a  landing  of  the  cargo, 
and  the  governor  refused  a  permit  to  pass  the  defensive  works  of 
the  castle. 

The  citizens  held  repeated  mass  meetings,  in  which  the  question 
•  as  fully  discussed,  and  nearly  unanimous  resolutions  w  're  adopted 
to  resist  to  the  last  extremity  all  attempts  at  landing  thi  tea.  They 
were  in  session  (December  16th,  1773)  when  the  definitive  reply  of 
the  governor,  respecting  a  pass,  was  received.  "A  violent  commo- 
tion instantly  ensued.  A  person  disguised  after  the  manner  of  the 
Indians,  who  was  in  the  gallery,  shouted  at  this  juncture  the  cry 
.of  war:  the  meeting  was  dissolved  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.    The 


TUK  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


245 


multitude  rushed  in  mass  to  GrifTm'a  wharf.  About  twenty  persons, 
alw)  disguised  aa  Indians,  then  made  their  appearance;  all  either 
masters  of  ships,  carpenters,  or  caulkers.  They  went  on  board  the 
ships  laden  with  tea.  In  loss  than  two  hours,  three  hundred  and 
forty  chests  were  staved,  and  emptied  in  the  sea.  They  were  not 
interrupted:  the  surrounding  multitude  on  shore  served  them  as  a 
safeguard.  The  affair  was  conducted  without  tumult:  no  damage 
was  done  to  the  ships,  or  to  any  other  effects  whatever."* 

The  consequence  of  these  acts  of  violence  was  the  immediate 
passage,  by  parliament,  of  the  act  known  as  the  "Boston  port  bill," 
by  which  the  port  was  closed  against  all  iniportationa,  the  custom- 
house being  removed  to  Salem.  This  restriction  was  not  to  bo 
removed  until  full  compensation  should  be  made  for  the  damage 
done  by  the  popuhice.  On  motion  of  North,  a  further  enactment 
passed,  by  a  very  large  majority,  for  giving  the  appointment  of  all 
civil  and  judicial  ofiicers  in  Massachusetts  directly  to  the  crown. 
It  was  also  ^enacted  that,  at  any  future  prosecution  for  "homicide 
or  other  capital  offence"  committed  in  support  of  lawful  authority, 
the  governor  might  send  the  accused  out  of  the  colony  for  trial, 
either  to  another  province,  or  to  England,  if  it  appeared  to  him 
necessary  so  to  afford  security  against  popular  prejudice. 

In  anticipation  of  the  possible  result  of  such  violent  measures, 
acts  were  passed  for  the  further  regulation  of  government  in  Canada, 
the  bounds  of  which  province  were  extended  "so  as  to  embrace 
the  territory  situated  between  the  lakes,  the  river  Ohio,  and  the 
Mississippi." 

*  Otis'  Botta. 


246 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  HIBTOBY. 


CH  APTEH   ?I. 

OAOE,   GOVERNOR  OP  MASSACHUSETTS;    MILITARY  PREPARA- 
TI0N8:^INUTE-MEN,  — DISTRESS  IN  BOSTON:   SYMPATHY  OF 
OTHER  TOWNS.  —  CONVENTION  PROPOSED  BY  VIRGINIA:  DEL- 
EGATES CHOSEN   BY   THE    COLONIES. — THE    CONTINENTAL 
CONGRESS:    RESOLUTIONS   AND   DECLARATION   ADOPTED. 
—  VIOLENT    MEASURES    OF    PARLIAMENT. 

In  May,  1774,  General  Gage,  having  received  the  appointment 
of  governor  of  Masauchusetts,  in  place  of  Hutchinson,  arrived  in 
Boston.  He  was,  personally,  held  i.i  much  greater  esteem  than  his 
predecessor,  and  met  with  a  suitable  reception,  notwithstanding  the 
general  state  of  disorder  and  indignation  at  the  speedy  enforcement 
of  the  port  bill,  which  was  to  go  into  operation  on  the  lat  of  June. 
A  number  of  regiments  of  regulars  were  concentrated  at  the  town 
for  the  purpose  of  overawing  the  inhabitants,  and,  under  the  direc- 
tions of  the  general,  defensive  works  were  erected  on  the  neck  by 
which  the  peninsula  of  Boston  is  connected  with  the  main  land. 

These  precautions  were  by  no  means  premature  or  unnecessary, 
for,  every  where  throughout  the  colony,  appearances  grew  more  and 
more  ominous.  The  new  officers,  of  royal  appointment,  were  im- 
peded in  the  exercise  of  their  duties?,  by  threats  or  violence ;  the 
organization  and  training  of  the  militia  was  carried  on  with  great 
zeal  and  perseverance;  meetings  were  every  where  held,  and  reso- 
lutions were  passed  breathing  the  spirit  of  the  most  determined 
resistance.  At  a  general  meeting  of  Massachusetts  delegates,  at 
Salem,  of  which  Hancock  was  president,  "They  enrolled  twelve 
thousand  of  the  militia,  whom  they  called  mimite-men;  that  is,  .sol- 
diers that  must  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  minute's 
notice."  Directions  were  openly  and  boldly  given  for  the  storing 
of  provisions,  the  collection  of  ammunition,  &c.,  as  if  the  country 
were  already  involved  in  civil  war. 

The  city  of  Boston  necessarily  suffered  severely  from  the  total 
cutting  off  of  its  commercial  resources.  The  most  hearty  sympathy 
was  expressed  by  the  towns  of  Massachusetts,  and  by  the  other  col- 
onies, both  in  the  form  of  resolutions  of  encouragement,  and  more 
substantially,  by  subscriptions  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.    At  Salem 


REl'ARA- 
ATIIY  OF 
A:  DEI,- 
5NTAL 
TED, 


pointincnt 
irrived  in 
1  than  hia 
tiding  the 
forccrnent 
t  of  June, 
the  town 
the  direc- 
neck  by 
land, 
necessary, 
more  and 
were  im- 
3nce;  the 
■ith  great 
and  reso- 
'tcrmined 
Jgatcs,  at 
d  twelve 
at  is,  sol- 
minute's 
e  storing 
country 

the  total 
yinpathy 
ither  col- 
!id,  more 
U  Salem 


fji  A'  K  V 1 L   n  A  L  i,^   n  u  a  r  u  jV, 

The  Building  —as-comme'-ced  ic  1740.  and  -was  given  by  Pat:nr  Faneuil  to  th9 
town  of  Boston,  i'or  a  Town-Hall  and  Markat-placa.  It  is  celebrated  as  being  tbs 
sceno  of  many  of  the  early  d^^atea  upon  the  great  questions  at  issue  between 
England  and  tbe  Colonies 


mmu 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


247 


to  the  Boston  importers,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  former  made 
pubhc  profession  of  their  determination  not  to  take  advantarof 
the  position  m  .hich  they  were  placed,  to  enrich  them  el  etf  the 
expense  of  those  who  had  exposed  their  property  and  peHal 
safety  for  the  general  good.  f    t-     j  puibonai 

In  the  neighbouring  colonies,  the  same  state  of  affairs  existed  as 
in  Massachusetts  Not  only  were  the  people  busily  engag  d  „  p  " 
anng  arms  and  ammunition,  but,  in  several  instances' they  vo- 
lently  plundered  the  public  stores.  The  legislative  a.ssemJies 
generally  responded  to  the  exigency  of  the  occasion,  by  resolut  on 
of  sympathy  and  encouragement.  In  Virginia,  it  was  ^solved,  tha 
attempts  to  coerce  one  colony  to  submit  to  mea."^es  which  al  had 
expressed  a  common  interest  in  opposing,  were  to  be  resisted  by 

tt  gene^f  good'  '''''''''  '^^™  ^"  ^'^  ^°^°"^-'  *^  *^^«  ^^^^  ^or 
In  accordance  with  this  proposal,  all  the  colonies  except  Georgia 
me  choice  of  delegates,  in  number  from  two  to  seven,  according 
to  te  population  of  each,  who  were  to. convene  at  Philadelphia' 
At  the  3ame  time,  resolufons  to  cease  all  commerce  with  Great 
Britain  were  renewed.  Agreements  to  that  effect  were  signed  bv 
.mmense  numbers,  and  those  who  did  not  readily  concur  with 
the  proposal,  were  effectually  overawed  by  a  threat  of  the  publica- 

nlr         Tr"'-     ^  ""^'  ^'^  ^"^^  ^"^  '^''  '^g^-^-^e"*  to  go  into 
P  ration.     The  state  of  public  feeling  was  also  demonstrafed  by 
acts  of  vio  ence  committed  upon  the  persons  of  obnoxious  tories 
many  of  whom  were  "tarred  and  feathered,"  or  otherwise  so  pe"se 
uted  as  to  be  obliged  to  place  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
the  authorities  at  the  fortified  posts. 

temtVTm  "' A  ,r"°''''  ""''  "'  Philadelphia,  on  the  5th  of  Sep- 

Canl  nn      I  !"■'  ^'■'''"'  "'^^'I'*  *''^  '^^P'^ties  from  South 

Ca  0  .„a,  who  arrived  on  the  14th.     Of  the  fifty-three  delegates  to 

>  convention,  nearly  all  were  men  of  propert3.  and  high  sLulin. 

r2  -  ""7m'  ''r-"'  ''^^"^'^  '''"^^y  of  ^^irginia,  Samuel  and 

John  Adams  o    Mass..chusetts,  Eoger  Sherman  of  Connecticut,  and 

t  er.-were  already  celebrated  for  eloquence,  legal  attainmenl,  or 

en  blv  r  fr  \  "  ^''''  ^**'"""'"  ^novements.  It  was  no 
a.  mby  of  reckless  poht.cal  adventurers,  but  consisted  of  n.en  who 
truly  represented  the  intelligent  portion  of  the  communitv.  and  who 


248 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


felt  that  their  own  good  fame,  their  lives,  property,  and  personal 
safety  depended  upon  the  performance  of  their  duty  to  their  con- 
stituents, in  a  manner  as  prudent  and  cautious,  as  firm  and  uncom- 
promising. It  was  agreed  that  each  colony  should  have  hut  one 
vote,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  assembly  were  only  to  be  made 
public  so  far  as  permitted  by  its  own  resolutions.  The  session  was 
held  with  closed  doors. 

The  first  proceedings  were  the  adoption  of  resolutions  expressive 
of  approval  of  those  passed  by  the  Massachusetts  convention;  a 
declaration  of  rights,  accompanied  by  a  specific  enumeration  of  the 
instances  in  which  these  had  been  infringed  by  the  British  govern- 
ment ;  and  a  more  efiicient  organization  of  the  system  of  non-im- 
portation, which  was  to  go  into  general  operation  on  the  1st  of  tlie 
ensuing  December,  and  to  which  was  appended  an  agreement  not 
to  export  goods  to  England  or  its  dependencies,  if,  at  a  future  period 
redress  should  not  have  been  obtained  for  injuries  already  commit- 
ted. Incidentally  to  this  agreenicnt,  the  importation  of  slaves  was 
condemned,  and  was  prohibited  by  the  articles  of  compact. 

A  petition  to  the  king,  and  addresses,  letters,  and  memorials  to 
the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  the  northern  American  provinces, 
were  subsequently  prepared,  debated,  and  adopted.  An  unavailing 
communication  had  been  previously  addressed  to  General  Gage, 
remonstrating  against  the  military  operations  at  Boston.  Congress 
adjourned  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  after  providing  for  a  future 
meeting,  to  take  place  in  the  following  year. 

During  the  winter,  the  colonies  had  opportunity  to  express  their 
separate  opinion  upon  the  doings  of  Congress,  either  by  their  assem- 
blies or  by  popular  conventions.  The  acts  passed  generally  met 
with  hearty  approval  and  concurrence.  The  sect  of  Quakers,  at 
their  yearly  meeting,  carrying  out  their  principles  of  peace,  con- 
demned every  thing  that  should  tend  to  bring  down  upon  the  coun- 
try the  calamities  of  war;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  eloquence  and 
ardour  of  New  England  divines,  especially  of  the  Congregational 
societies,  were  lent,  with  little  scruple  or  concealment,  to  the  popular 
caiise.  The  association  for  non-intercourse  with  England  experi- 
enced more  opposition  in  New  York  than  elsewhere :  the  tories  of 
that  colony,  by  reason  of  wealth,  influence,  and  numbers,  occupied 
a  more  independent  position  than  in  either  of  the  other  provinces, 
and  the  self-interest  of  the  large  number  of  those  dependent  upon 
the  commerce  of  New  York,  strengthened  their  opposition. 


imii* 


THE  AMERICAN   HEVOLUTION. 


249 


The  parhament  of  Great  Britain,  upon  receipt  of  intelligence  con. 
cern.ng  the  American  congress  and  the  disorderly  state  of  affairs  in 
America    determined  on  violent  coercive   measures.      The  concil- 
iatory and  moderate  policy  of  the  elder  Pitt  was  rejected;  Franklin 
and  the  other  colonial  agent,  were  refused  a  hearing;  and  as  a  pun- 
islinient  to  the  colonies  for  their  resistance  to  authority  and  refusal 
to  import  goods  from  Great  Britain,  all  other  foreignLde     xcep 
t  at  to  the  British  West  Indies,  was  absolutely  prohibited,' as  ^a 
also  the  prosecution  of  the  fisheries  on  the  banks.     A  large  militarv 
and  naval  rcUnforcement  was  also  ordered  to  America.     A  provision 
was,  mdoed  made  for  the  exemption  from  taxation  of  any  colony 
wh.ch  should,  by  Its  own  act,  appropriate  a  "sufficient"  sum  for  the 
necessary  expenses  of  government  and  defence.     In  the  new  restric- 
^o.)s  upon  trade,  exceptions  were  introduced  in  favour  of  New 
York  and  North  Carolina,  these  being  considered  the  most  loyal 
and  amenable  of  the  colonies.     The  acts  were  passed  in  both  houses 
by  large  majorities,  notwithstanding  the  able  argument  of  eloquent 
opponents,  and  a  crowd  of  petitions  from  merchants,  manufacturers, 
and  inhabitants  of  other  colonies,  whose  interests  were  directly  de- 
pendent upon  prosperous  commerce  with  America. 


CHAPTEH   ?II. 

WARLIKE  PREPARATIONS  IN  M  ASS  A  CHF8ETTS.-TR00PS  ;),S- 
PATCHED  TO  SEIZE  MILITARY  .TO  R  E8.-F  I  RST  BLOOD  SHED 
AT  LEXINGTON,  — DISASTROUS  RETREAT  OF  THE  BRITISff  TO 
BOSTON.  — PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE   N-ErOHBOURING  COLONIBf^ 
—  BOSTON  BESIEGED  BY  THE  PROVINCIALS —CONCUE- 
RENCE0FTHES0UTHERNC0L0NIE8.— SEC0ND8ESSI0N 
OF  CONGRESS,- APPOINTMENT  OF  OFFICERS- 
SEIZURE  OF  CROWN  POINT  AND  TIC0NDEBO4JA. 

Jnf  ^"^,'^^^^'^"t««f  Massachu.setts,  denounced  a«  rebels  by  the  late 

^ted  by  tb3  presence  of  overbearing  military  officials  and  sol- 
die^  wore  now  ready  for  any  extremi.y.  It  w,.  with  no  small 
^«-Uy  that  supplies  could  be  procured  for  the  troops  at  Boston 


250 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  HISTOEY. 


and  the  commanding  officer  heard,  with  alarm,  of  the  unceasing  pre- 
parations for  war  that  were  going  on  in  all  the  neighbouring  dis- 
tricts. The  precarious  position  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  excited 
universal  concern,  and  various  plans  were  suggested  for  their  relief. 
Among  others,  it  is  said  to  have  been  seriously  proposed,  that  "a 
valuation  should  be  made  of  the  houses  and  furniture  belonging  to 
the  inhabitants,  that  the  city  should  then  be  fired,  and  that  all  the 
losses  should  be  reimbursed  from  the  public  treasure."  The  pro- 
vincial congress  of  Massachusetts  ordered  the  procurem^^nt  of  large 
quantities  of  ammunition  and  arms,  which,  as  fast  as  they  could  be 
collected,  were  privately  stored  at  different  depots  in  the  country 
towns.  Cannon,  balls,  &c.,  were  smuggled  out  of  Boston,  over  the 
fortified  neck,  in  manure-carts,  and  various  other  devices  were  suc- 
cessfully resorted  to  for  deceiving  the  guard. 

General  Gage,  having  now  nearly  three  thousand  men  under  his 
immediate  command,,  thought  that  the  time  had  arrived  for  a  forcible 
check  upon  the  movements  of  th.e  rebels.  He  had  learned  that  arms 
and  ammunition,  belonging  to  the  provincials,  were  collected  in 
large  quantities  at  Concord,  about  eighteen  miles  from  Boston.  These 
he  determined  to  seize,  and,  having  taken  every  precaution  to  pre- 
vent intelligence  of  the  movement  from  being  known,  he  dispatched 
several  companies  of  grenadiers  and  light  infantry,  numbering  about 
eight  hundred  men,  upon  this  service,  on  the  night  of  April  18th, 
(1775.)  Doctor  Joseph  Warren,  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 
Boston  patriots,  had,  by  some  means,  become  acquainted  with  the 
intended  attack,  and  sent  messengers  forthwith  to  spread  tht;  news 
through  the  country. 

Early  on  the  following  morning  the  troops,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Smith,  entered  Lexington,  a  few  mile:  from  Concord, 
A  company  of  provincial  militia,  to  the  number  of  little  more  than 
seventy,  was  under  arms  upon  the  green,  near  the  meeting-house. 
Major  Pitcairn,  leader  of  the  van-guard,  called  out,  "Disperse,  rebels! 
lay  down  your  arms  and  disperse,"  The  order  not  being  obeyed, 
he  immediately  discharged  a  pi.stol,  and,  waving  his  sword,  gave 
the  command  to  fire.  Several  fell  at  the  first  volley,  and,  although 
the  militia  immediately  retreated,  they  were  fired  upon  in  the  act  of 
dispersing.     Eight  were  killed. 

The  troops  then  marched  on  to  Concord.  At  that  town  the  min- 
ute-men endeavoured  to  keep  possession  of  a  brid^je,  bur.  were 
charged  and  driven  from  their  position.     The  object  of  the  expedi- 


THTJ  AMEEICAN    BEVOLUTION. 


251 


tion  was  accomplished,  by  the  destruction  of  a  quantity  of  ammuni- 
tion and  provisions  and  the  spiking  and  dismounting  of  two  p-eces 
of  arti  lery.  By  this  time  the  whole  country  was  up  in  arms,  and, 
as  the  troops  commenced  their  retreat,  they  were  exposed  to  a  gall! 
ing  and  destructive  fire  from  places  of  concealment  on  either  side  of 
the  road,  while  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  fo^ce  of  the  provin- 
cials hung  upon  their  rear. 

To  protect  the  retreat.  General  Gage  had,  fortunately  for  the 
expedition,  sent  on  a  reinforcement  of  sixteen  companies,  who  met 
the  first  detachment  at  Lexington.  Wearied  by  their  long  night 
march  and  the  fatigues  of  the  mor.ing,  and  with  their  ammunitL 
nearly  spent,  the  whole  of  the  first  detachment,  it  was  thought,  might 
have  perished  or  fallen  into  the  enemies'  hands  but  for  the  aid  thus 
opportunely  afforded.  After  resting  and  recruiting  their  strength 
the  whole  army  marched  towards  Boston. 

Harassed  throughout  the  entire  distance  by  an  irregular  but 
dead  y  fire  from  concealed  marksmen,  the  worn-out  troops  reached 
Charlestown  about  sunset.  They  had  sustained  a  loss,  in  killed  and 
wounded,  of  not  far  from  three  hundred  men:  the  provincials  lost 
less  than  one-third  of  that  number.  What  added  to  the  difficaltv 
of  tlio  march,  was  the  intense  heat  of  the  weather,  and  a  high  wind 
which  raised  clouds  of  dust.  *  ' 

The  first  blood  had  now  been  shed;   the  country  was  actually 
involved  in  war;  and  Massachusetts  called  upon  the  other  colonies 
for  assistance.     Connecticui,  New  Hampshire,  and  Ehode  Island 
made  response  by  raising  troops  and  commissioning  officers     In 
anticipation  of  this  more  regular  levy,  a  large  army  of  volunteers 
had  collected  and  encamped  around  Boston.    Generals  Ward  and 
Ihomas  received  the  highest  commission  under  the  provision  of  the 
Massachusetts  provincial  legislature.     The  volunteers  from  Connec- 
ticut were  commanded  by  General  Putnam,  an  old  soldier,  and  a 
true  man  of  the  times.     There  was  no  difficulty,  at  this  period,  in 
procuring  men:  more,  indeed,  flocked  in  than  could  be  supported 
and  upon  the  arrival  of  the  regular  provincial  forces,  great  num- 
bers 0.  tlie  volunteers  disbanded  and  returned  home.     The  universal 
Mdignatioii  was   increased   by  reports  of  British  cruelties  during 
i;-  brief  period  of  hostilities.     These  stories,  it  is  said,  the  leaders 
I  the  people  "never  failed  to  propagate  and  exaggerate,  in  every 
place,  repeating  them   with   words   of  extreme   vehemence,    and 
painting  them  in  the  most  vivid  cok..rs,"  thereby  producing  "an 


252 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  IIISTOEY. 


incredible  fermentation,  and  a  frantic  rage  in  the  minds  of  the 
inhabitants." 

The  middle  and  southern  colonies,  as  soon  as  the  news  of  the 
opening  of  the  campaign  in  the  north  could  reach  them,  generally 
gave  expression  to  the  popular  feeling  of  sympathy  with  the  patriots 
and  of  their  conviction  that  the  questions  in  dispute  were  of  com- 
mon interest.  Military  organizations,  associations  for  purposes  of 
defence,  and  seizures  of  public  stores  and  funds  for  the  popular 
cause,  were  the  order  of  the  day. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  (1775,)  in  accordance  with  former  provisions 
the  continental  congress  assembled,  the  second  time,  at  Philadelphia. 
Peyton  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  who  had  presided  at  the  first  meetin<' 
was  reelected ;  but  upon  his  departure  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the 
Virginia  assembly,  his  place  was  taken  by  Thomas  Jefferson.  The 
first  proceedings  were  to  prepare  a  further  petition  to  the  kinci,  and 
addresses  to  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  and  the  American  col- 
onies. It  was  then  voted,  that  war  had  been  commenced  by  England 
and  that  active  measures  should  be  taken  for  defence;  but,  at  the 
.'!ame  time,  a  nominal  allegiance  was  professed  to  the  parent-country. 

Continental  officers  were  next  chosen — the  office  of  commander- 
in-chief  being  bestowed  upon  George  Washington,  one  of  the  mem- 
bers from  Virginia;  Artemas  Ward,  Philip  Schuyler,  Israel  Putnam, 
and  Charles  Lee,  were  chosen  major-generals;  Horatio  Gates  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  adjutant-general.  The  two  officers  last 
mentioned  had  both  held  commissions  in  the  British  service. 

These  proceedings  occupied  some  time,  and,  meanwhile,  important 
scenes  were  enacting  at  the  seat  of  war.  On  the  very  day  that  con- 
gress assembled,  a  bold  and  successful  adventure  was  achieved  by  a 
volunteer  force  of  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys,"  commanded  by  Ethan 
Allen,  one  of  the  most  active  and  enterprising  of  the  popular  leaders 
at  the  north.  At  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  fortified  posts  upon 
Lake  Champlain,  on  the  Canadian  frontier,  it  was  known  that  there 
was  great  store  of  artillery  and  ammunition,  and  a  design  was  formed 
simultaneously  in  Connecticut  and  Vermont  to  accomplish  its  seizure. 
Colonel  Panedict  Arnold,  of  New  Ilaven,  at  the  time  connected  with 
the  besieging  army  at  Roston,  was  commissioned  by  the  former.  He 
is  described  aa  having  been  "possessed  by  nature  of  an  extraordinary 
force  of  gcniu.<',  a  restless  character,  and  an  intrepidity  bordering  upon 
prodigy."  Finding  that  Allen  had  already  raised  a  force  for  the  same 
object,  Arnold  joined  the  expedition  as  a  subordinate. 


::\-.' 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  253 

The  garrisons  at  the  forts  were  grossly  insufficient  in  numbers 
for  their  defence,  and  were,  moreover,  taken  completely  by  surprise 
When  the  commander  of  Ticonderoga,  roused  from  sleep,  and  sum- 
moned by  Allen  to  surrender,  "in  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah 
and  the  Contmental  Congress,"  was  informed  that  he  was  "prisoner 
of  America,  he  was  much  confused,  and  repeated,  several  times, 
What  does  this  mean  ?' "  About  two  hundred  and  twenty  pieces  of 
artillery,  with  a  great  quantity  of  ammunition,  and  a  number  of 
howitzers  and  mortars,  were  secured  at  these  two  posts.  Proceeding 
down  the  Sorel  in  a  schooner,  Arnold  surprised  and  captured  a 
British  corvette  which  lay  at  Fort  St.  John.  The  captured  fortresses 
on  Champlain  were  garrisoned  and  put  under  his  command. 


CHAPTEB   YUL 


l.^. 


CONDITION   OF   THE   BRITISH    ARMY   IN   BOSTON.— BATTLE    OF 
BUNKER     HILL.  — WASHINGTON     AT     THE     CAMP,  — CON- 
GRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.- THE  INDIAN   TRIBES. 
—JOSEPH  BRANT.— MILITARY  PREPARATIONS 
IN    THE    SEPARATE    COLONIES. 

Early  in  June,  the  British  forces  in  Boston  had  been  increased 
by  fresh  arrivals  of  troops,  under  Generals  Howe,  Burgoyne  and 
(  hnton,  to  more  than  ten  thousand  disciplined  soldiers.  '  It  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  supplies  of  provisions  could  be  procured 
torso  largo  an  army,  beleaguered  as  was  the  town  by  a  superior 
a  tliough  undisciplined  force  of  the   provincia.'..      Genernl  Ga-e' 
tlierciore,  first  issued  a  proclamation  of  free  pardon  to  all  who  would 
iay  aside  their  attitude  of  rebellion,  and  submit  to  the  royal  author- 
ity, excepting,  however,  the  prime  movers  of  sedition,  John  iran- 
cock  and  Samuel  Adams.     He  then  formed  a  plan  to  penetrate  the 
eneimes  hues,  and  open  a  free  communication  with  the  country 

Ihe  intended  movement  became  known  to  the  American  "com- 
manders, and  orders  were  immediately  given  for  the  era.tion  cf 
^)itiheations  on  Bunker  hill,  an  elevation  commanding  the  neck 
tulonel  Wilham  Prescott,  with  a  body  of  one  thousand  men  was 
commissioned  upon  tliis  service,  on  the  night  of  the  16th  of  June 


1  > 

]    in 

.    IJII. 

,  jt. 

■■i  ■' 

|-  • 

J  .  ,| 

I '.!*#' 


254 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


Mistaking  his  point  of  destination,  this  ofRccr  commenced  operations 
at  Breed's  hill,  a  position  nearer  to  the  town,  and  overlooking 
Charlestown,  at  that  time  a  place  of  considerable  size.  Labouring 
with  great  diligence  and  silence,  the  provincials  had  thrown  up 
before  day-break,  a  low  earthen  redoubt  in  the  form  of  a  square 
sufficiently  substantial  to  afford  some  protection  for  the  troops. 

As  soon  as  these  operations  were  discovered  from  the  harbour,  a 
tremendous  fire  was  opened  upon  the  works  from  the  men-of  war 
which  lay  at  anchor,  from  the  city  artillery,  and  from  floating  bat- 
teries. Notwithstanding  the  storm  of  shells  and  balls,  the  provincials 
continued  their  labour,  and  carried  a  trench  and  embankment  from 
the  redoubt  down  the  north-eastern  slope  of  the  hill,  nearly  to  the 
water's  edge.  A  reinforcement  of  several  companies  had,  meanwhile 
been  thrown  into  the  intrenchment.  As  the  height  commanded 
the  city,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  prevent  the  establishment  of  a 
battery  there,  in  order  to  maintain  possession  of  Boston ;  Gage,  tliere- 
fore,  determined  upon  an  immediate  attempt  to  storm  the  redoubt. 

Throe  thousand  men  were  transported  from  the  city  to  the  foot  of 
the  hill,  in  boats.  Major-General  Howe  and  General  Pigot  were  in 
command.  The  most  exposed  point  was  the  interval  between  the 
trench  and  Mystic  river,  at  the  north-east :  this  was  partially  defended 
by  a  temporary  breast- work  of  hay  and  fencing  stuff.  "  The  troops 
of  Massachusetts  occupied  Charlestown,  the  redoubt,  and  part  of  the 
trench;  those  of  Connecticut,  commanded  by  Captain  Nolton,  and 
those  of  New  Hampshire,  under  Colonel  Starke,  the  rest  of  tlie 
trench."  Generals  Putnam  and  Warren  were  both  present,  and 
assisting  in  the  directions  of  the  defence.  The  troops  were  very 
scantily  furnished  with  ammunition,  and  very  few  had  bayonets. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  the  arrangements  for  attack 
being  perfected,  the  regulars  marched  up  the  hill;  their  officers  were 
surprised  at  the  silence  from  within  the  redoubt,  for  the  provincials 
reserved  their  fire  until  a  very  near  approach  of  the  enemy.  When 
the  word  was  at  last  given,  so  heavy  and  destructive  was  tlie  dis- 
charge, that  the  British  fell  back  in  disorder,  and  retreated  to  the  foot 
of  the  hill.  A  second  charge,  to  which  the  troop-^  were,  with  diffi- 
culty, marshalled,  resulted  in  a  similar  disaster.  The  number  df 
ofiicers  who  fell  in  tliese  two  first  attem])ts  is  astonishing.  "General 
Howe  remained  for  some  time  alone  upon  the  field  of  battle;  all  the 
officers  who  surrounded  him  were  killed  or  wounded." 

The  town  of  Charlestown  had  been  fired  by  order  of  Gage,  at  the 


J 


ced  operations 
1  overlooking 
e.  Labouring 
id  thrown  up, 
1  of  a  square, 
le  troops, 
the  harbour,  a 
he  men-of-war 
m  floating  bat- 
the  provinciala 
)ankment  from 
,  nearly  to  the 
lid,  meanwhile, 
it  commanded 
iblishmentofa 
i;  Gage,  there- 

the  redoubt. 
Y  to  the  foot  of 

Pigot  were  in 
d  between  the 
tially  defended 
"  The  troops 
md  part  of  the 
n  Nolton,  and 
le  rest  of  the 
1  present,  and 
ops  were  very 
d  bayonets, 
ents  for  attack 
ir  officers  were 
■he  provincials 
:nemy.  AVheii 
e  was  the  dis- 
a  ted  to  the  foot 
'ere,  with  diffi- 
lie  number  of 
ng.     "General 

battle;  all  the 

I) 

jf  Gage,  at  the 


J 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


255 


time  of  tho  first  repulse,  and,  consisting  chieny  of  wooden  buildings, 
WM  soon  reduced  to  ashes.  The  scene  had  now  become  one  of 
intense  interest.  Every  hill  and  house-top  from  which  a  view  of  tho 
field  could  be  obtained,  was  thronged  with  spectators.  General 
Clinton,  who  had  witnessed  the  second  charge  from  Cop's  hill,  a 
neighbouring  height,  hastened  up,  with  additional  forces.  The  col- 
limns  were  again  formed,  and  marched  up  to  tho  redoubt,  suffering 
little  from  the  slackened  fir-)  of  the  provincials,  whose  powder  was 
now  nearly  spent.  At  the  same  time,  the  lateral  trench  was  swept 
by  several  pieces  of  artillery,  which  the  British  had  succeeded  in 
posting  at  its  extremity. 

From  three  several  quarters,  the  regulars  poured  into  the  enclosed 
space  of  the  redoubt,  from  which  the  Americans  were  driven  at  the' 
point  of  the  bayonet,  defending  themselves  lustily  with  their  muskets 
clubbed.  Their  retreat  was  effected,  with  little  further  loss,  across 
Charlestown  neck,  although  the  passage  was  exposed  to  a  heavy  fire 
from  tlie  floating  batteries,  and  from  one  of  the  armed  vessels.  The 
English  i«imediately  fortified  Bunker  hill,  to  secure  command  of 
the  neck  for  the  future. 

In  this  battle  more  than  one-third  of  the  entire  British  force  were 
either  killed  or  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  provincials  a  little  ex- 
ceeded four  hundred  and  fifty.  Doctor  Joseph  Warren,  recently 
commissioned  as  a  general  officer,  perished  during  the  retreat.  He 
was  shot  down,  it  is  said,  by  an  English  officer,  who  borrowed  a 
musket  from  a  private  for  the  purpose. 

The  provincial  congress  of  Afassachusetts  had,  ere  this,  declared 
the  colony  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  Gage,  who,  in  the  resolution, 
was  pronounced  "a  public  enemy."     After  communication  with  the 
continental  congress,  a  provisional  government  was  organized,  con- 
sisting of  town  deputies  and  a  council.     It  was,  indeed,  plain  to  all 
that  there  was  no  choice  between  a  sanguinary  contest  and  a  humil- 
iating submission.      In   England,  the   popular  feeling,  where  not 
affected  by  the  personal  interest  of,  commerce,  was  most  decidedly 
inimical  to  the  rebellious  colonies,  who  had  presumed  to  defy  the 
power  and  question  the  authority  of  the  British  government,  and 
the  coercive  measures  adopted  met  with  general  approbation.     It  is 
true  that  there  were  not  a  few  who  foresaw  the  possible  consequences 
of  the  war,  and  deprecated  the  violence  that  might  cause  the  loss  of 
England's  most  valuable  foreign  possession;  others,  of  yet  more  lib- 
eral sentiments,  felt  and  expressed  a  noble  sympathy  with  their 
Vol.  IV.— 45 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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256 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


transatlantic  brethren  throughout  the  long  and  arduous  struggle 
upon  which  they  had  now  entered. 

About  the  1st  of  July,  General  Washington  arrived  at  the  camp, 
near  Boston,  and  assumed  command.  The  presence  of  an  experi- 
enced commander-in-chief  was  absolutely  requisite  in  the  existing 
state  of  the  army.  About  fourteen  thousand  men,  new  to  the  disci- 
pline of  a  camp,  and  very  insufficiently  provided  with  necessary 
accommodations,  stores,  and  ammunition,  were  posted  so  as  to  guard 
the  approaches  to  the  city:  this  line  extended  over  a  space  of  not  far 
from  twelve  miles.  "Washington's  head-quarters  were  at  Cambridge. 
Generals  "Ward  and  Lee  were  stationed  at  Roxbury  and  Prospect 
hill.  The  latter  position  had  been  fortified  by  the  provincials  im- 
mediately subsequent  to  the  battle  at  Breed's  hill. 

The  more  important' congressional  proceedings  during  the  months 
of  June  and  July,  in  addition  to  those  already  briefly  mentioned,  were 
the  issue  of  bills  of  credit,  redeemable  by  apportionment  among  the 
colonies,  to  the  amount  of  three  millions  of  dollars;  the  establish- 
ment  of  a  post-office  system  (at  the  head  of  which  was -Benjamin 
Franklin);  and  the  commission  of  emissaries  to  treat  with  the  Indian 
tribes.  These,  and  various  minor  arrangements,  being  concluded, 
congress  adjourned  until  September.  The  attempt  to  gain  over  the 
powerful  confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations,  proved  a  signal  failure, 
except  so  far  as  related  to  the  tribe  of  the  Oneidas,  over  whom  Mr. 
Kirkland,  a  missionary,  had  great  influence.  The  munificence  and 
craft}'^  policy  of  the  English  Indian  agent.  Sir  "William  Johnson,  had 
for  many  years  secured  the  admiration  and  affection  of  the  rest  of 
the  Iroquois;  and,  upon  his  death,  they  proVed  equally  loyal  to  his 
son-in-law  and  successor,  Guy  Johnson.  Their  most  celebrated  chief, 
Joseoh  Brant,  Thayendanegea,  who  had  been  brought  up  and  edu- 
cated under  Sir  AVilliam's  patronage,  received  a  commission  in  the 
British  service,  and  took,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice,  an 
important  part  in  border  hostilities.  The  character  of  Brant  has 
been  generally  mistaken  by  historians,  and  it  is  only  by  the  research 
of  modern  write /'s  that  his  abilities  and  good  qualities  have  been 
brought  to  light,  and  the  popular  slanders,  which  pronounced  him  a 
monster  of  cruelty,  refuted. 

The  spirit  which  actuated  the  general  congress  was  also  evinced 
in  the  separate  colonies,  either  by  popular  movements,  or  the  action 
of  the  provincial  assemblies.     The  authority  of  the  royal  governors 


was,  in  many  instances,  set  at 


naught: 


troops  were  raised,  and 


and  arduous  struggle 

m  arrived  at  the  camp, 
presence  of  an  experi- 
quisite  in  the  existing 
.  men,  new  to  the  disci- 
■ovided  with  necessary 
■e  posted  so  as  to  guard 
i  over  a  space  of  not  far 
ters  were  at  Cambridge. 
Roxbury  and  Prospect 
by  the  provincials  im- 
i  hill. 

ings  during  the  months 
briefly  mentioned,  were 
portionment  among  the 
'  dollars;  the  establish- 
f  which  was -Benjamin 
to  treat  with  the  Indian 
lents,  being  concluded, 
;tempt  to  gain  over  the 
)roved  a  signal  failure, 
neidas,  over  whom  Mr. 
The  munificence  and 

•  William  Johnson,  had 
affection  of  the  re.st  of 

■•ed  equally  loyal  to  his 
ir  most  celebrated  cliiof, 
!n  brought  up  and  edu- 
id  a  commission  in  the 

occasion  to  notice,  an 
character  of  Brant  has 

is  only  by  the  research 
od  qualities  have  l)eeii 
hich  pronounced  him  a 

igress  was  also  evinced 
ovements,  or  the  action 

•  of  the  royal  governors 
roops  were  raised,  and 


J  o  <i  K  p  II    u  i<  .1  v  T  •  ■/■  //  //  y  t:  A'  ij  rt  jV  n  a  k  .-i  . 


colonial  l 
As  heret 
York,  wt 
than  elsei 
congress, 
provincia 


TACILLAl 

POR  CAI 

DITIOI 

ALIE 

PIE] 

eriii  policy 
In  speakin 
with  genei 
own  fault 
decrees,  si 
conciliator 
But  men  i 
to  surmou 
delays,  hei 
enterprises 

The  wh( 
this  time  v 
awe.  The 
ing  the  I 
beleaguere 
Iheir  depre 
provincials 
British  ves 
mouth,  aft( 
October  (1' 

Congresf 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


257 


L 


colonial  bills  M-ere  issued  to  defray  the  expense  of  their  maintenance 
As  heretofore  the  greatest  conflict  of  public  opinion  was  in  New 
York  where  the  loyalists  were  enabled  to  make  a  stronger  stand 
than  elsewhere.  The  members  for  New  York,  at  the  late  session  of 
congress  were  chosen,  not  by  the  assembly,  but  by  a  self-organized 
provincial  congress  elected  by  the  people  at  large.  "'S^'^'^^O. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

TACILIATINO  POLICY  OP  ENGLAO.-PKOVISIONS  BY  CONGRESS 
POR  CARRYING  ON  THE  WiR.-NAVAL  OPERATIONS.-EXPE 
DITION  AGAINST  CANADA—SIEGE  OP  PORT  ST    JOHN  - 
ALLEN'S  ATTEMPT  UPON  MONTREAL.— THE  CITY  OCCU- 
PIED BY  MONTGOMERY.— MARCH  TOWARDS  QUEBEC. 

^K^EE  is  much  Wisdom  in  the  criticism  of  Botta,  upon  the  gen- 
eru:  pohcy  of  the  British  government  during  these  early  hostilities. 
Inspeaking  of  Gage,  he  says:  "He  arrived  in  America  accompanied 
with  general  afiection:  he  left  it  abhorred ;  perhaps  less  through  his 
own  fault  than  that  of  the  ministers,  who,  in  place  of  rigorous 
decrees,  should  have  sent  powerful  armies;  or  instead  of  armies, 
concihatory  conditions,  consonant  with  the  opinions  of  Americans! 
But  men  commonly  know  neither  how  to  exert  all  their  force,  nor 
0  surmount  the  shame  of  descending  to  an  accommodation:  hence 
delajs,  hesitations,  and  half  measures,  so  often  prove  the  ruin  of 
enterprises."— (Oils'  Translation.) 

The  whole  proceedings  of  the  British  military  and  naval  forces  at 
this  time  were  calculated  rather  to  annoy  and  enrage,  than  to  over- 
awe. There  were  many  cruisers  busied  upon  the  coast  in  hinder- 
ing  the  American  commerce,  and  in  procuring  supplies  for  the 
beleaguered  garrison  at  Boston.  The  sea-port  towns  suffered  from 
Wieir  depredations;  and,  in  one  especial  instance,  the  action  of  the 
provincials  in  preventing  the  procurance  of  provisions,  &c.,  by  a 
British  vessel,  was  punished  by  bombardment.  This  was  at  Fal- 
mouth, afterwards  Portland,  which  was  destroyed  in  the  month  of 
October  (1776). 

Congress  was  at  this  time  in  session,  having  come  together  early 


258 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OP  HISTORY. 


\ 


in  the  preceding  month.  Delegates  from  all  the  original  thirteen 
colonies  were  present ;  Georgia  had  elected  deputies  since  the  last 
meeting.  The  principal  attention  of  this  body  was  necessarily 
directed  to  the  maintenance  of  the  army,  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
ammunition  and  military  stores  being  very  great.  Privileges  of 
trade  were  granted  to  vessels  in  which  gun-powder  should  be  im- 
ported, and  ships  were  dispatched  to  distant  foreign  ports,  even  to 
the  coast  of  Guinea,  for  the  purchase  of  this  grand  desideratum  of 
modern  warfare.  % 

The  three  New  England  colonies,  at  an  early  period  in  the  war 
commenced  retaliations  upon  British  commerce,  for  th$  injuries  com- 
mitted at  sea.  '  The  first  step  taken  by  the  Massachusetts  assembly, 
was  to  direct  the  arming  of  several  vessels  to  protect  the  seacoast. 
From  this  they  proceeded  to  authorize  private  adventure,  by  the 
issue  of  letters-of  marque,  and  the  allowance  of  reprisals.  Courts  of 
admiralty  were  also  instituted  to  decide  prize  claims.  The  priva- 
teers thus  commissioned  were,  however,  restricted  to  the  seizure  of 
vessels  containing  supplies  for  "the  soldiers  who  made  war  against 
the  Americans." 

The  general  congress  adopted,  soon  after,  substantially  the  same 
course.  A  fleet  of  thirteen  vessels  was  ordered  to  be  fitted  out  in 
the  northern  and  middle  colonies.  Continental  courts  of  admiralty 
were  also  created,  and  the  public  vessels  received  a  general  com- 
mission to  "capture  all  those  which  should  attempt  to  lend  assist- 
ance to  the  enemy,  in  any  mode  whatever."  It  is  singular  to 
observe  the  manner  in  which  congress,  previous  to  the  declaration 
of  independence,  while  adopting  every  measure  of  open  hostility, 
still  aimed  at  a  nominal  distinction  between  rebellion  against  the 
British  government  and  the  resistance  of  illegal  demands — still  pro- 
fessing loyalty  to  the  king,  but  denouncing  his  civil  and  military 
officials  in  the  colonies  as  public  enemies. 

In  the  autumn  of  1775,  a  plan  was  consummated  for  the  invasion 
of  Canada.  It  was  supposed  that  the  French  inhabitants  of  that 
province  would  rejoice  at  an  opportunity  for  successful  resistance  to 
an  authority  always  galling  to  their  national  pride,  and  recently 
rendered  more  odious  by  the  arbitrary  provisions  of  the  "Quebec 
act."  The  regular  force  at  this  time  stationed  in  Canada  was  very 
small,  and  the  opportunity  seemed  peculiarly  favourable  for  a  bold 
and  unexpected  offensive  demonstration.  Information  had  also 
been  received  by  congress,  that,  with  the  opening  of  spring,  the 


THK  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION.  gSO 

British  government  "was  to  make  a  grand  effort  in  this  province- 
that  numerous  forces,  arms,  and  munitions,  would  be  poured  into  ft' 
,n  order  to  attack  the  colonies  in  the  back:  an  operation  which  if 
not  seasonably  prevented,  might  have  fatal  consequences  " 

A  detachment  of  three  thousand  men,  from  New  York  and  New 
England,  under  command  of  General  Schuyler,  was  ordered  to  pen 
Sto'tt'stV  '°"*««{,^«^«  Champlain.  pacing  down'the 
Sorel  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  Br.gadier-Generals  Montgomery  and 
Wooster  held  subordinate  commands;  but,  upon  the  detentfon  of 
Scln  yler  at  Albany,  by  sickness,  the  direction  of  the  expedition 
devolved  upon  the  former.  ^ 

General  Carleton,  governor  of  Canada,  receiving  intimation  of  the 
approach  of  the  enemy  endeavoured  to  secure  the  entrance  of  the 
borel,  by  dispatching  thither  several  armed  vessels;  but  the  Ameri- 
cans were  in  advance  of  the  movement.  Montgomery  entered  the 
nver,  and  landing  his  force.,  laid  siege  to  Fort  St.  John,  which 
commanded  the  passage,  and  was  garrisoned  by  a  considerable  force 
Advance  parties  were  sent,  by  land,  into  the  neighbouring  Canadian 
dlst^c^  to  circulate  a  proclamation  of  the  Americans,  setting  forth 
the  object  of  the  invasion,  and  calling  upon  the  inhabitants  to  join 
m  driving  -the  British  garrisons  from  the  country 

Many,  accordingly,  enlisted,  and  the  scouting  parties  were  gener- 
ally received  with  kindness  and  hospitality.  Arms  and  provlions 
were  also  furnished  by  the  Canadians.     Colonel  Ethan  illen  and 

fnT'.    iT'  y^,^"'""^^"^  «f  «"«  °f  these  advanced  detachments, 
undertook  the  bold  enterprise  of  an  assault  upon  Montreal.     Brown 

iT  ""'?  I'T!  *^'  "'''  '"^  *'™"  *°  ^"^P^'-**^  ^itl^  A"e».  and  the 
latter,  at  the  head  of  a  very  small  party,  was  overpowered  by  a 

superior  force,  under  command  of  Governor  Carleton.     He  was  sent 
to  Hingland  lu  irons. 

Carleton  next  endeavoured  to  relieve  Fort  St.  John,  but,  on  his 
way  thither,  he  met  with  so  warm  a  reception  from  troops  posted 
upon  the  river-bank,  that  a  retreat  was  ordered.  The  fort  surren- 
dered on  the  3d  of  November.  A  number  of  pieces  of  artillery  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  and  a  considerable  supply  of 
shells  and  balls,  but  the  provisions  and  powder  of  the  garrison  were 
nearly  spent        ' 

Upon  the  approach  of  the  invading  forces,  Carleton  fled  from  Mon- 
treal, which  was  untenable  against  a  superior  force,  and  Montgomery 
entered  the  city,  without  opposition,  on  the  13th.     He  took  great 


J 


260 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


pains  to  conciliate  the  inhabitants,  and  succeeded  in  raising  a  body 
of  volunteers  to  supply,  in  some  measure,  the  diminution  of  his 
forces,  by  the  return  home  of  those  whose  term  of  service  had  ex- 
pired. A  necessary  supply  of  warm  clothing  was  also  procured  to 
protect  the  troops  from  the  severity  of  the  approaching  winter.  The 
establishment  of  garrisons  at  the  captured  posts,  together  with  the 
defection  alluded  to,  had  reduced  the  effective  force  of  the  invaders 
to  about  three  hundred  men;  but,  with  this  handful  (Jf  troops,  Mont- 
gomery commenced  his  march  towards  Quebec,  exposed  to  the  rigours 
of  a  Canadian  winter. 


ARNOLD'S    EXPEDITION    AGAINST    QUEBEC;    PASSAGE    OF  THE 

WILDERNESS:   FAILURE  OF  PROVISIONS;    DEFECTION  OF  ENDS, 

WITH   HIS  COMMAND:    ARRIVAL   AT  THE  CANADIAN  8ET- 

TLEMENTC:   PROCLAMATIONS;   ARNOLD  AT  THE  HEIGHTS 

OF   ABRAHAM:   UNION   WITH  MONTGOMERY;    ATTACK 

ON  QUEBEC;    DEATH   OF   MONTGOMERY;    MORGAN'S 

RIFLE   CORPS.    AMERICAN    FORCES   DRAWN   OFF. 


In  accordance  with  the  plan  of  the  campaign,  while  Montgomery 
seized  upon  Montreal,  Quebec  was  to  be  attacked  from  a  most  unex- 
pected quarter.  Fourteen  companies,  amounting  to  about  eleven 
hundred  men,  were  put  under  command  of  Colonel  Arnold,  in  the 
month  of  September,  with  instructions  to  force  a  passage  through 
the  wilderness,  by  proceeding  up  the  Kennebec  river,  in  Maine, 
thence  across  the  mountains  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Chaudiere,  and 
down  that  stream  to  its  entry  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  near  Quebec. 

To  estimate  the  difficulties  of  such  an  undertaking,  it  must  he 
considered  that  the  whole  route  lay  through  an  uninhabited  country; 
that  every  natural  obstacle  of  a  rough,  uncultivated  region,  must  be 
overcome;  that  no  provisions  could  be  procured  on  the  way;  and 
that  all  supplies,  arms,  and  camp  furniture,  must  be  transported  hy 
hand  around  the  portngeji,  or  unnavigable  places  on  the  rivers,  and 
over  the  highlands  to  be  passed  before  reaching  the  Chaudiere. 

As  the  detachment  approached  the  sources  of  the  Kennebec,  the 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


261 


supply  of  provisions  was  nearly  exhausted.  The  soiaiers,  worn  out 
by  exposure,  hardship,  and  toil,  and  compelled  to  resort  to  crude 
and  unnatural  aliment,  suffered  much  from  sickness.  Colonel  Enos 
being  in  conamand  of  one  division  of  the  army,  waa  ordered  to  select 
the  sick  and  unserviceable,  who  were  to  be  sent  back  to  Boston. 
This  officer  accordingly  withdrew  his  entire  command-a  species  of 
desertion  which  was  afterwards  excused  upon  a  trial  by  court-mar- 
tial on  the  ground  that  provision  for  the  sustenance  of  the  whole 
body  could  not  by  possibility  have  been  procured. 

Before  reaching  the  Chaudiere,  the  scant  remains  of  food  were 
divided  among  the  soldiers,  and,  at  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  from 
any  settlement,  the  whole  store  was  exhausted.  A  small  scouting 
party,  led  by  Arnold  in  person,  succeeded  in  procuring  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  provision  to  recruit  the  strength  of  their  companions, 
and  enable  them  to  continue  their  march.  Upon  reaching  the  Can- 
adian settlements,  after  more  than  a  month  spent  in  the  wilderness 
Arnold  issued  proclamations,  drawn  up  by  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  American  army,  disclaiming  all  hostile  intent  towards  the 
people  of  Canada,  and  exhorting  them  to  join  as  brothers  in  a  cause 
01  common  interest. 

The  Americans  were  hospitably  received  and  entertained;  and 
pursuing  their  march,  they  arrived,  on  the  9th  of  November  ai 
Point  Levy  nearly  opposite  the  Canadian  capital,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  the  expedi- 
tion, no  boats  could  be  procured  (or  the  transportation  of  the  army 
across  the  river.  ^ 

"It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  stupor  of  surprise  which  seized  the 
inhabitants  of  Quebec,  at  the  apparition  of  these  troops.  They  could 
not  comprehend  by  what  way,  or  in  what  mode,  they  had  trans- 
ported  themselves  into  this  region.  This  enterprise  appeared  to 
them  not  merely  marvellous,  but  miraculous;  and  if  Arnold,  in  this 
first  moment,  had  been  able  to  cross  the  river,  and  fall  upon  Quebec, 
he  would  have  taken  it  without  difficulty."* 

Opportunity  was  given,  by  the  delay  thus  occasioned,  for  strength- 
ening the  defences,  and  for  organizing  the  citizen-soldiery.  On  the 
nightofthe  13th  of  November,  Arnold  crossed  the  river,  and  ascended 
the  heights  at  the  spot  memorable  as  the  scene  of  the  decisive  en- 
gagement  between  the  French  and  English  in  the  late  war.  The 
American  general  had  hoped  to  come  upon  the  city  by  surprise,  but 

•  Otis'  Botta. 


262 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


he  ascertained,  upon  a  nearer  approach,  that  the  garrison  was  under 
arms  and  on  the  alert.  Ilia  own  ardent  feelings  impelled  him  to  an 
immediate  assault,  but  he  aband(jned  the  raah  design  upon  consij. 
eration  of  the  unserviceable  condition  of  the  arms  of  his  troops,  and 
their  very  scanty  stock  of  ammunition.  lie  drew  off  his  forces,  and 
retired  to  Point  au  Tremble,  twenty  miles  from  the  city,  there  to 
await  the  arrival  of  Montgomery. 

The  two  detachments  met  on  the  1st  of  December.  United,  they 
formed  a  body  of  leas  than  one  thousand  men,  but  with  tliesc  the 
commanding  officer  determined  to  attack  the  capital.  Carleton  had, 
in  the  mean  time,  made  his  way  to  the  anticipated  scene  of  conflict, 
and  so  disposed  his  available  force  of  regulars  and  of  the  provincial 
militia,  aa  to  constitute  an  adequate  garrison.  Arriving  at  Quebec, 
on  the  5th,  Montgomery  summoned  the  city  to  surrender,  but  the 
demand  was  treated  with  contempt,  and  the  bearer  of  the  flag  was 
fired  upon.  For  several  days,  the  general  then  attempted  to  produce 
an  impression  by  playing  upon  the  city  with  a  few  pieces  of  artillery, 
planted  behind  an  embankment^  of  ice. 

The  weather  now  became  intensely  cold,  and  frequent  and  heavy 
falls  of  snow  added  to  the  discomfort  and  suffering  of  the  invaders. 
The  small-pox,  moreover,  broke  out  among  them,  and  spread,  in 
spite  of  all  practicable  precautions.  Every  day  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess were  diminishing,  and  it  was  decided  to  assault  the  city  without 
further  delay.  The  little  army,  in  two  divisions,  led  by  Montgom- 
ery and  Arnold,  made  the  attack  before  day-light,  on  the  31st  of 
December.  The  garrison  had  obtained  intimation  of  the  design,  and 
preparations  were  completed  for  the  reception  of  the  enemy.  Mont- 
gomery was  killed,  at  the  first  discharge  of  artillery,  and  his  division 
fell  back.  Arnold  entered  the  city  from  the  opposite  quarter,  march- 
ing at  the  head  of  his  troops.  Upon  approaching  a  barricade,  de- 
fended by  two  pieces  of  artillery,  he  received  a  severe  wound  in  the 
leg  from  a  musket-ball,  which  entirely  disabled  him.  The  barricade 
was  forced  by  the  exertions  of  the  intrepid  and  active  Morgan,  com- 
mander of  the  rifle  corps;  but  further  defences  appeared,  well 
guarded.  A  heavy  fire,  opened  upon  their  front  and  rear,  compelled 
the  little  band  of  assailants  to  disperse,  and  seek  shelter  in  the  build- 
ings. Some  three  hundred  of  them  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
The  remainder  of  the  army  of  invasion  was  drawn  off,  and  encamped 
a  few  miles  from  the  city. 


THE   AMKKICAN    KEVOLUTION.  ^63 

CHAPTER  II. 

WAItLIKJS  PttEPAKATIONS  IN    KN  0  I,  AN  D.-O  KRM  A  N  MEltCENA- 

111K8,— PJ10CEBDIN08  OK  60NORIJS8:    ENLISTMENTS     ISSUE  OF 

BILLS:  DEFENCES  IN  NEW  YORK.— OONUITION  Of  THE  IIKIT- 

ISH   IN   IIOSION.— OCCUPATION  OP  DORCHESTER  lIEKiilTS 

—EVACUATION    OP    THE    CI  T  Y .— HOPE  I  NS'    CRUISE 

AMONG  THE  BA  HAM  AS.— A  P  P  A  I  R8  AT  THE  SOUTH 

—  ATTACK    UPON    C  H  ARLESTON.— RITRE  AT  OP 

THE    AMERICAN    TROOPS    PRQM    CANADA. 

The  state  of  feeling  in  England  at  the  aspect  of  American  affairs 
in  tlie  autumn  of  1775,  was  one  of  mingled  mortification,  at  the  bold 
position  taken  and  maintained  by  the  colonies,  and  discontent  with  a 
ministry  which  had  "done  too  much  to  irritate, too  little  to  subdue  " 
Believing  that  the  time  for  the  adoption  of  conciliatory  policy  had 
passed,  the  government  treated  the  late  petition  of  congress  with 
contempt,  and  hastened  forward  measures  for  increasing  the  regular 
force  in  America.  Enlistments  were  encouraged  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom,  and,  by  arrangement  with  the  German  princes 
seveuteen  thousand  mercenaries  were  engaged  to  serve  in  America! 
The  whole  force  expected  to  be  raised,  including  those  enlisted  in 
Canada,  was,  numerically,  over  fifty  thousand. 

The  colonies  were  proclaimed  as  being  in"  a  state  of  rebellion- 
intercourse  with  them  was  forbidden,  and  the  effects  of  the  inhabit' 
ants  were  declared  liable  to  seizure.     In  the  case  of  vessels  captured 
under  this  act,  an  infamous  provision  was  added,  by  which  the  Amor- 
lean  crews  were  made  liable  to  impressment  and  compulsory  service 
on  board  British  armed  vessels.     Notwithstanding  .  vehement  and 
eloquent  opposition,  these  measures  were  sanctioned  uy  a  larcre  ma- 
jority in  parliament.     The  chief  command  of  the  army  in  America 
was  conferred  upon  General  Howe,  in  place  of  Gage,  who  had  been 
recalled.    1  he  brother  of  the  former.  Admiral  Lord  Howe,  com- 
manded the  fleet  destined  to  cooperate  with  the  land  forces  against 
the  rebellious  colonies.  ^ 

The  continental  congress,  meanwhile,  had  not  been  idle  The 
most  important  proceedings  related  to  the  details  of  enlistin-  re-ular 
forces,  by  apportionment  among  the  provinces.  Great  numbers  of 
the  troops  stationed  before  Boston,  unaccustomed  to  the  hardships 


264 


TUK   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  U18T0BY. 


and  tedium  of  military  life,  had  become  completely  disheartened; 
and,  upon  expiration  of  the  short  term  of  their  enlistment,  refused  to 
continue  longer  with  the  army  upon  any  promises,  or  any  repre- 
Bcntutions  of  necessity.  To  meet  the  increasing  expenses  of  the 
war,  an  additional  issue  of  three  millions  in  bills  of  credit  was  re- 
solved upon,  redeemable,  like  the  former,  by  instalments,  payments 
to  commence  at  the  expiration  of  eight  years. 

Precautions  were  also  taken,  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1776,  for 
the  defence  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where  the  number  and  iiiflu- 
ence  of  the  tories  rendered  dependence  upon  the  local  militia  un- 
safe. Troops  from  New  Jersey  and  Connecticut  were  introduced 
into  the  city,  and  the  command  was  bestowed  upon  General  Lee. 
Many  acta  of  violence  were  committed  at  this  time  upon  the  persons 
and  property  of  adherents  to  the  royal  cause. 

At  Boston,  the  British  garrison  suffered  much  hardship  through- 
out the  winter,  from  deficiency  of  fuel  and  provision.  Many  English 
vessels,  freighted  with  stores,  were  taken  by  the  colonial  privateers, 
and  others  were  lost  on  the  coast.  The  army,  encompassed  by  a 
superior  force,  was  entirely  unable  to  carry  on  any  offensive  opera- 
tions against  the  enemy.  As  spring  approached,  it  appeared  neces- 
sary, to  congress  and  to  the  officers  of  the  continental  army,  that  a 
decisive  blow  should  be  struck  in  this  quarter,  that  the  besieging 
forces  might  be  free  to  act  wherever  occasion  should  require. 

The  heights  of  Dorchester  commanded  the  city  and  harbour  from 
the  southward,  and  the  attention  of  the  commander-in-chief  was 
directed  to  the  occupation  of  that  important  position.  On  the  night 
of  March'  4th,  1776,  a  force  of  about  two  thousand,  men  well  pro- 
vided with  carts  of  fascines,  &c.,  and  all  necessary  working  imple- 
ments, was  dispatched  upon  this  service.  A  cannonade  was  kept 
up  from  batteries  sufficiently  near  to  throw  shells  into  the  city;  and, 
favoured  by  the  darkness  of  the  night  and  the  direction  of  the  wind, 
the  troops  accomplished  the  important  movement  without  discovery 
or  suspicion.  By  day-light,  when  the  British  garrison  first  had  inti- 
mation of  the  proceeding,  sub.stantial  works  had  been  already  erected, 
and  the  business  of  intrenchment  and  fortification  was  going  on  with 
uninterrupted  ardour. 

A  storm  opportunely  prevented  the  British  general  from  crossing 
with  his  forces  to  attack  the  redoubt,  and  the  delay  thus  incurred 
gave  sufficient  time  for  completing  the  intrenchrnents,  and  making 
all  needful  preparations  for  defence,  and  for  a  bc^mbardmcut  of  tlie 


TUE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


265 


city.  Howe  saw  that  his  position  was  untenable,  and  avowed  his 
determ.nat.on  to  evacuate  the  city  quietly,  if  undisturbed  in  his 
retreat  Some  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  Boston  waited  upon 
General  Washington,  with  representations  of  the  condition  of  the 
cty,  and  requests  that  he  would  comply  with  this  proposal  His 
ment  was  obtained,  and  the  whole  British  army,  crowded  on' board 
of  sh.ps  and  transports  which  lay  in  the  harbour,  was  allowed  to  set 
m\  unmolested  The  place  of  their  destination  was  unknown  to  the 
Americans,  and  ,t  was  feared  that  a^descent  would  be  made  upon 
some  other  port.on  of  the  coast.  Fifteen  hundred  of  the  inhabitai.ts 
of  the  city,  who,  having  openly  taken  part  with  the  loyalists  feared 
to  remain  after  the  evacuation,  embarked  with  the  British  troops 
leaving  their  property  subject  to  seizure  and  confiscation  ' 

The  fleet  sailed  for  Halifax,  the  condition  of  the  troops  being 
entirely  incompatible  with  any  immediate  hostile  demonstration 
Washington  entered  the  city  with  his  army,  on  the  27th  of  March 
and  was  received  with  great  enth^  ^m  and  rejoicing.  The  era! 
arkation  of  the  British  troops  had  occupied  nearly  a  fortnight 
during  which  period,  the  inhabitants  had  suflfered  considerable  injur^^ 
from  the  depredations  of  the  more  lawleas  and  disorderly,  who  wan- 
ton ly  destroyed  great  quantities  of  provisions,  &c.  The  British 
artillery  and  munitions  of  war  were  abandoned  to  the  Americans 
whether  by  private  agreement,  as  a  condition  upon  which  a  peace- 
able evacuation  was  permitted,  or  because  of  insufficient  means  of 
transportation  does  not  distinctly  appear.  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
pieces  of  artillery-mostly  spiked-were  secured  at  Boston  and  the 
neighbouring  fortifications. 

Ere  this  period,  congress  had  commenced  operations  at  sea.  Two 
frigates,  three  corvettes,  and  a  number  of  gun-sloops  were  fitted  out 
and  manned.  With  eight  of  these  vessels.  Commodore  Hopkins 
sailed  upon  a  cruise  among  the  Bahamas,  in  the  month  of  February 
The  special  object  was  the  seizure  of  munitions  of  war  known  to  be 
stored  there.  At  New  Providence  a  seasonable  supply  of  gun-pow- 
der, to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  kegs,  was  secured. 

The  southern  colonies,  meanwhile,  were  not  exempt  from  the 
calamities  of  war.  The  coasts  of  Virginia  were  harassed  by  a  force 
under  Lord  Dunmore,  the  former  governor,  who,  at  the  commence- 
raent  of  the  year,  made  an  attack  upon  the  thriving  town  of  Norfolk 
A  portion  of  the  place  was  burned  by  the  attacking  party,  and  the 
remainder  was  fired  by  its  defenders  when  no  longer  tenable     In 


268 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


North  Carolina,  severe  contests  took  place,  in  the  month  of  February 
between  the  provincials  and  loyalists. 

It  was  supposed  in  England  that  if  a  strong  force  were  once  landed 
in  the  sou t?  em  colonies,  those  of  the  inhabitants  who  favoured  the 
royal  cause  would  hasten  to  join  it,  and  that  a  permanent  stand 
might  be  effected  in  that  quarter.  In  North  Carolina,  the  tory  inter- 
est was  ki  jwn  to  have  many  adherents.  A  consideraWe  fleet,  with 
more  than  two  thousand  soldiers  on  board,  was,  therefore,  sent,  under 
command  of  Sir  Peter  Parker,  to  seize  upon  the  more  important 
sea-ports.  The  squadron  was  jomed  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who 
took  command  of  the  land  forces:  the  city  of  Charleston  was  selected 
as  the  first  point  of  attack. 

Timely  notice  of  these  preparations  had  been  obtained  by  the 
Americans,  and  a  fort  was  erected  on  Sullivan's  island  to  protect 
the  harbour.  General  Lee  was  entrusted  with  the  principal  com- 
mand. On  the  28th  of  June,  the  British  fleet  entered  the  harbour 
and  commenced  bombarding  the  fort.  A  small  regiment,  under 
Colonel  Moultrie,  was  stationed  at  that  important  post.  The  fire 
was  returned  with  great  effect,  and  the  plans  of  the  admiral  beinor 
thwarted  by  the  grounding  of  several  of  his  vessels,  the  attempt  was 
abandoned.  No  landing  was  effected,  and  the  fleet  set  sail  for  New 
York,  the  appointed  rendezvous  for  the  reinforcements  ordered  from 
England  and  the  German  states. 

Every  thing  had  been  prepared  at  the  city  of  Charleston  to  give 
the  invaders  a  warm  reception.  Great  numbers  of  the  militia  had 
been  called  in  to  increase  the  garrison,  and  such  measures  were  taken 
for  the  defence  of  the  place  as  time  and  opportunity  permitted. 
The  enemy's  loss,  during  the  cannonade,  could  not  have  been  much 
less  than  two  hundred ;  that  of  the  garrison  at  the  fort  was  very  trifling. 

In  Canada,  the  American  forces  effected  nothing.  Reinforcements 
were  repeatedly  sent  out  to  the  camp,  but  when  British  forces  began 
to  pour  into  tlie  country,  the  troops,  after  several  disastrous  attempts 
to  retrieve  their  fortune,  were  drawn  off,  and  retreated  homeward 
by  Luke  Champlain.  The  loss  of  several  valuable  officers,  of  a  great, 
number  of  men,  and  a  great  expenditure  of  money — not  continental 
bills,  but  hard  cash — were  the  only  results  of  the  Canadian  expedi- 
tion, concerning  which  such  sanguine  expectations  had  been  formed, 
The  remnant  of  the  army  of  invasion  returned  in  miserable  plight, 
nearly  destitute,  and,  worse  than  all,  utterly  discouraged  and 
dispirited. 


THE  AMERICAN   BEVOLUTION.  267 


CHAPTER  XII. 

STATE  OF  FEELING  IN    THE  COLONIES.  — PAINE'8  WRITINGS. 
—  DEBATES  IN  CONGRESS,— THE  DECLARATION  OF   INDE- 
PENDENCE:    ITS    EFFECT     UPON    THE     PEOPLE. THE 

BRITISH    AT    8TATEN    ISL  A  ND.  — PROCLAMATION 
OF   GENERAL    AND    OF    ADMIRAL    HOWE. 

• 

The  formation  of  independent  systems  of  government  in  the  sep- 
arate colonies,  familiarized  the  minds  of  the  American  people  with 
the  idea  of  a  permanent  disconnection  with  the  British  government. 
While  the  thought  of  state  sovereignty  was  flattering  to  the  pride 
of  the  provincials,  it  was  evident  that,  without  some  established 
political  connection,  no  great  national  object  could  be  obtained. 
Long  before  the  revolution,  it  is  said  that  the  chiefs  and  orators  of 
the  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations,  advised  the  adoption,  by  the  colonies, 
of  a  federal  union  similar  to  their  own,  proving,  from  their  individ- 
ual experience,  the  practicability  of  union  for  all  purposes  of  common 
interest,  without  infringement  of  the  rights  of  each  distinct  tribe. 

In  the  winter  of  1776,  a  work,  entitled  "  Common  Sense^'  written 
by  Thomas  Paine,  an  Englishman,  residing  in  Pennsylvania,  made 
its  appearance.  By  shrewd  reasoning,  logical  argument,  and  popu- 
lar declamation,  the  author  endeavoured  to  establish  the  practica- 
bility, and  even  necessity,  of  American  independence,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  excited  the  feelings  of  the  people,  by  a  vivid  represent- 
ation of  the  disgrace  and  misery  that  must  follow  close  upon  submis- 
sion to  England.  The  book  was  extensively  circulated,  and  exercised, 
beyond  question,  a  most  powerful  influence. 

The  late  action  of  parliament,  in  the  employment  of  Hessian  mer- 
cenaries to  serve  in  America,  and  the  enlistment  of  the  Indian  border 
tribes  in  favour  of  the  royal  cause,  produced  a  storm  of  popular 
indignation.  The  petition  of  congress  had  been  spurned  with  dis- 
dain; no  measures  but  those  of  force  had  met  with  favour  in 
England;  and  it  was  now  plain  that  notliing  was  left  to  the  colonies 
but  an  open  declaration  to  the  world  of  their  determination  to  sunder 
for  ever  all  ties  with  a  government  whose  protection  had  only  been 
extended  for  sellisli  ends. 
"At  this  epoch,"  says  an  early  writer,  "Amcrici  wns  found  in  a 


^-^V. 


268 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


strange  situation,  and  actually  unheard  of  till  then.  The  war  she 
had  carried  on  with  so  much  vigour,  now,  for  more  than  a  year,  was 
directed  against  a  king  to  whom  she  incessantly  renewed  her  pro- 
testations of  obedience;  and  the  same  men  who  committed  all  the 
acts  of  rebellion,  would  by  no  means  be  called  rebels.  In  all  the 
tribunals  justice  was  still  administered  in  the  name  of  the  kin<^- 
and  in  the  churches  prayers  were  continually  repeated  for  the  pre- 
servation and  happiness  of  that  prince,  whose  authority  was  not  only 
entirely  rejected,  but  also  fought  against  with  incredible  obstinacy." 

The  first  step  taken  by  congress  in  furtherance  of  the  popular 
cause,  was  a  recommendation  to  such  of  the  colonies  as  had  not 
already  adopted  a  provisional,  independent,  civil  government,  to 
proceed  to  the  establishment  of  "such  governments  as,  according  to 
the  opinion  of  the  representatives  of  the  people,  should  be  most 
conducive  to  the  happiness  of  their  constituents,  and  of  America  in 
general."  This  proposal  was  generally  acted  upon,  and,  in  many 
instances,  the  congressional  delegates  were  formally  invested  by  the 
colonial  assemblies  with  power  to  act  upon  the  anticipated  question, 

A  motion  in  favour  of  American  independence  was  made  in  con- 
gress on  the  7th  of  June,  and,  on  the  following  day,  was  debated 
with  great  ability  and  eloquence.  Eichard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia 
who  advocated  the  motion,  and  John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  argued  in  opposition,  were  the  principal  speakers.  The  decision 
of  the  question  was  postponed  until  July,  that  full  opportunity 
might  be  given  to  the  members  to  receive  instructions  from  their 
constituents. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  that  memorable  instrument,  known  as 
the  "Declaration  of  Independence,"  was  signed  by  delegates  from 
the  thirteen  original  colonies,  thenceforth  the  United  States  of 
America.  It  was  understood  to  have  been  principally  drawn  up  bv 
Tliomas  Jeflerson,  who,  with  John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Roger  Sherman,  and  Philip  Livingston,  had  been  appointed  to  pre- 
p;n-e  it,  previous  to  the  lute  adjournment. 

Tlio  i)reamble  commences:  "When  in  the  course  of  Inimaii 
events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political 
bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assmno, 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station  to 
which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent 
regard  to  the  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare 
the  causes  wliich  impel  them  to  tlie  separation."     Then  follow  a 


THE  AMERICAN   KEVOLUTION. 


269 


declaration  of  nghte,  natural  and  political,  a  forcible  recapitulation 
of  wrongs  inflicted  by  the  British  government,  with  a  reference  to 
the  neglect  or  gpntempt  with  which  all  petitions  for  redress  had 
been  received,  and,  in  conclusion,  it  is  boldly  asserted,  "that  these 
united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent 
states;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British 
crown,  and  that  all  political  connexion  between  them  and  the  State 
of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved."  The  sense 
of  personal  responsibility  felt  by  the  fiftyfive  members  who  signed 
the  document,  is  expressed  in  the  closing  words:  "And  for  the 
support  of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of 
Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our 
fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honour." 

In  all  the  principal  cities,  the  intelligence  of  this  act  of  congress 
was  received  with  the  most  extravagant  expressions  of  jov     The 
exultation  of  the   army  was   boundless,   and  the  populace,   mad 
with  excitement,  celebrated  the  event  with  noisy  demonstrations. 
%ul  statues  and  insignia  were  every  where  thrown  down  and 
estroyed.     At  New  York,  an  image  of  George  III,  formed,  by  a 
felicitous  propriety,  of  lead,  was  converted  into  musket-balls      The 
condition  of  all  acknowledged  or  suspected  tories  was  lamentable 
and  to  correct  and  moderate  the  excesses  committed  upon  this  class 
of  inhabitants,  congress  took  the  matter  in  hand,  instituting  commit- 
tees to  exert  a  constraining  power  ovei-  those  who  were  suspected 
of  favouring  the  enemy.     "  The  most  obnoxious  tories  had  already 
emigra  ed;    and,  for  the  present,  the  new  governments  contented 
themselves  with  admonitions,  fines,  recognizances  to  keep  the  peace 
and  prohibitions  to  go  beyond  certain  limits."*  . 

The  recommencement  of  hostilities  was  followed  by  a  loner  suc- 
cession of  most  disheartening  reverses.  The  British  forces  had 
already  effected  a  landing  upon  Staten  Island,  where  they  encamped 
and  opened  communications  with  the  loyalists  in  the  adj.iinin.  niov- 
inces.  Strengthened  by  arrivals  from  England,  and  bv  the  riturn 
northward  of  the  troops  embarked  under  Sir  Peter  Paker  for  the 
southern  expedition,  to  a  force  of  more  than  twenty  thousand  men 
General  Howe  prepared  for  a  descent  upon  New  York.  An  attemnt 
to  open  negotiations  with  congress,  and  with  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  American  army,  had  previously  failed,  from  the  refusal  of  the 
British  officials  to  treat  otherwise  than  as  with  private  individuals. 

*  Iliidrcth. 


270 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  UlSTOEY. 


The  result  of  an  interview,  afterwards  brought  about,  between  Gen- 
eral and  Admiral  Howe,  and  deputies  commissioned  by  congress, 
was  only  to  convince  the  former  that  no  terms  wo;uld  bo  listened  to 
which  they  were  empowered  to  grant. 

The  two  brothers  Howe  were  commissioned  by  the  king  to  grant 
discretionary  pardon  to  all  in  the  colonies  who  would  consent  to 
renew  their  allegiance.  Proclamations  were  issued  in  accordance 
with  this  commission,  calling  upon  all  loyal  subjects  to  separate 
themselves  from  the  rebels,  and  representing  to  the  malcontents  the 
desperate  condition  to  which  further  resistance  must  reduce  them, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  submission  would  ensure  present  safety, 
and  the  royal  promise  for  a  future  redress  of  all  grievances. 


LANDING    OF    THE    BRITISH    ON    LONG    ISLAND. — BATTLE   OP 
BROOKLYN. — THE   AMERICAN   FORCES    DRIVEN   FROM  LONG 
ISLAND.  —  OCCUPATION   OF   NEW  YORK   BY   THE   BRITISH. 
—  WASHINGTON'S  ENCAMPMENT  AT  HARLEM   HEIGHTS; 
AT  WIJITE  PLAINS.  —  STORMING  OF  FORT  WASHING- 
XON.  —  THE   RETREAT  THROUGH    NEW   JERSEY. — 
CAPTURE    OF    GENERAL    LEE.  —  CONDITION    OF 
PRISONERS. LAKE   CHAMPLAIN:     DESTRUC- 
TION  OF   THE   AMERICAN  VESSELS. — GEN- 
EROSITY OP  CARLETON.  —  RHODE  ISLAND 
SEIZED    BY    THE    BRITISH. 


Anticipating  an  attack  by  way  of  Long  Island,  General  Wash- 
ington poste  I  a  force  of  about  nine  thousand  men,  under  General 
Putnam,  at  Brooklyn.  The  approach  to  the  American  camp  from 
the  point  where  the  British  were  expected  to  land,  was  by  four 
roads,  two  leading  over  the  intervening  hills,  and  the  others,  less 
direct,  deviating  in  opposite  directions,  one  along  the  western  shore, 
the  other  eastward.  These  avenues,  owing  to  some  misapprehension 
or  bad  management,  were  insufficiently  guarded. 

The  British  having  landed  on  the  22d  of  August  (1776),  com- 
menced their  march  towards  Brooklyn,  on  the  night  of  the  26th, 
Upon  the  first  intt lligcnce  of  their  approach,  two  divisions  of  the 


iL 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  ■  g?! 

American  army,  under  Sullivan  and  Stirling,  were  disnatcLed  to 
repel  the  advance  over  the  hills  and  by  iU  .ZuZTtII 
opposing  forces  were  already  engaged,  when  the  Americans  were 
thrown  mto  confusion  by  an  attack  in  the  rear-Clinton  wUhZ 
.ost  effic^nt  portion  of  his  troops,  having  made  a  detour  for  tha 

rC  X        "'T'^'  '"^""  ^PP^-^^-     Stirling's  cutis  on 
by  hard  fighting,  mostly  regained  the  camp,  but  that  of  Sull  van 
was  destroyed  or  compelled  to  surrender.     Both  these  generals  were 
made  prisoners,  together  with  not  far  from'one  thouLd  ofThe 
men.    A  heavy  loss  was  also  sustained  in  killed  and  wounded 

On  the  night  of  the  29th,  the  American  troops  effected  a  r  treat 
across  the  East  river  to  New  York,  leaving  the  enemy  in  possessTon 
of  Long  Island  The  main  force  of  the  continentals  was  now  n- 
campedt  the  heights  of  Harlem,  or  within  the  city  of  New  York 
The  British  had  control  of  the  surrounding  wate^rs,  the  lefen  « s 
erected  upon  the  Hudson  having  proved  insufficient  to  prevent  a 
passage  up  the  river.  Under  protection  of  a  heavy  fireVomle 
shippmg  a  landing  upon  the  island  was  effected  by  General  Howe 
on  he  15th  of  September.  The  troops  drawn  up  in  opposition  flid 
m  the  most  cowardly  manner,  and  an  evacuation  of'the  itv  was 
rendere<l  absolutely  necessary.      The  Americans  sustained  sevlre 

'z2:r::i::L:p  ^''''  "^-  '^'^  '-^  — .  -^^ 

Washington's  forces,  securely  posted  upon  the  heights  of  Harlem 
aw  ited  the  movements  of  the  British.     The  latter  kept  posses^^^n 

it    T\:T'  '"'  "'^'^  ^'^^"^^^  ^°-"  '^^  northern  shore  0? 
.e  Sound      It  became  necessary  to  occupy  a  position  further  north 

to  avoid  being  cut  off  from  supplies,  and  a  new  camp  was  formed 
accordingly,  at  White  Plains.     The  enemy  gained  a  further  advan     " 
age  in  a  partial  engagement  on  the  28th  of  October,  in  which  a 
etacl^ent  of  between  one  and  two  thousand  Americans  waTdven 
from  us  position  near  the  main  camp,  with  great  loss. 

passage  of  the  Hudson,  being  situated  upon  oi,posite  banks  of  the 
nver,  a  few  miles  above  New  York,  were  the  next  objects  of  at  a  k 
They  had  been  strongly  garrisoned,  when  the  main  body  of  the 
American  army  moved  northward.     The  first  of  these  Zs  taken 

i  last  r'"'^  rr "T  "^^  "^""'^-  ^^^^  ^-  --  -- 

afler   has^i^  Yv'^f''    '^"   "''^'^    "'  ^''^'   strongholds,   to- 


272 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   0  1-    HISTORY. 


gether  with  a  great  amount  of  valuable  stores,   was  lost  to  the 
Americans. 

This  was  in  the  middle  of  November:  the  continental  army 
reduced  by  these  losses,  by  desertion,  and  by  the  expiration  of  the 
terms  of  enlistment,  to  between  three  and  four  thousand  men  was 
driven  from  post  to  post  in  New  Jersey.  Slowly  retiring  before  a 
greatly  superior  force,  Washington  occupied  in  succession  the  towns 
of  Newark,  Brunswick,  Princeton,  Sterling,  and  Trenton.  His 
troops,  disheartened  by  defeat,  and  worn  out  by  marching  and  ex- 
posure, were  in  a  condition  of  miserable  destitution,  while  the  pur- 
suers were  well  supplied  with  the  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  a 
campaign. 

Lord  Cornwallij,  with  an  overwhelming  force,  continued  to  press 
upon  the  retreating  army,  and,  on  the  2d  of  December,  Washington 
transported  his  troops  across  the  Delaware,  taking  the  usual  precau- 
tions to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  pujsuers  by  the  destruction  of 
bridges  and  the  removal  of  boats.  The  British  took  possession  of 
Trenton  and  the  adjoining  country,  but  neglected  to  push  their 
advantage  by  an  immediate  passage  of  the  river. 

Washington,  anxious  to  recruit  his  forces,  had  issued  orders  to 
other  divisions  of  the  army  to  join  him  with  all  expedition.  General 
Lee,  from  a  spirit  of  insubordination  or  self-sufficiency,  waa  dilatory 
in  obeying  the  order.  Avoiding  the  British  army,  by  a  detour, 
he  occupied  the  highlands  at  the  westward,  apparently  in  hopes  of 
effecting  some  bold  manoeuvre  on  his  own  account.  Exposing  him- 
self carelessly,  with  an  insufficient  guard,  he  was  betrayed  by  tories, 
and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  refusal  of  the  British 
authorities  to  consider  him  a  prisoner  of  war,  on  the  ground  that, 
having  been  an  officer  in  the  English  service,  he  was  only  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  traitor,  led  to  retaliation  upon  prisoners  in  the 
hands  of  the  Americans.  Exchanges  were  impeded,  and  a  sense  of 
mutual  injury  led  to  lamentable  results. 

Of  the  American  prisoners  in  New  York,  it  is  said  that,  "they 
were  shut  up  in  churches,  and  in  other  places,  exposed  to  all  the 
inclemencies  of  the  air.  They  were  not  allowed  sufficient  nourish- 
ment ;  their  fare  was  scanted,  even  of  coal^se  bread,  and  certain  ali- 
ments which  excited  disgust.  The  sick  were  confined  with  the 
healthy,  both  equally  a  prey  to  the  most  shocking  defect  of  cleanli- 
ness. *  *  A  confined  and  impure  air  engendered  mortal  diseases; 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  of  these  unfortunate  men  perished  iu  a 


THE  AMEKICAN   KEVOLDTION. 


273 


few  weeks."  Lee  w«8  afterwards  exchanged  for  General  Prcscott, 
who  was  surprised  and  eaptured  at  his  quarters,  ou  Ithode  Island 
by  a  small  party  of  Americans.  ' 

During  the  autumn  of  1776,  and  the  early  portion  of  the  ensuing 
winter,  fortune  seemed  to  frown  upon  the  American  cause  in  every 
quarter.  At  the  north,  the  possession  of  Lake  Champlain  was  an 
object  of  eager  contention.  Both  parties  busied  themselves  in  the 
construction  of  vessels,  for  which  the  British,  under  Carleton,  had 
far  greater  fac.lrties  than  the  Americans.  The  little  squadron  of  the 
latter  commanded  by  Arnold,  wa.  defeated  on  the  6th  and  7th  of 
October.  One  of  the  vessels  wa^  taken,  and  the  others  were  de- 
stroyed, to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  The 
Americans,  however,  still  held  Tort  Ticonderoga 

The  British,  having  possession  of  the  lake,  made  no  further  attempt 
upon  the  American  fortifications,  but  mostly  retired  to  Montreal  a 
garrison  being  left  at  Isle  au  Noix.  It  is  pleasing  to  revert  to  a^ts 
of  kindness  and  generosity  in  the  midst  of  scenes  calculated  to  arouse 
every  bad  passion  in  the  minds  of  men.  Such  are  recorded  of 
Carleton,  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  "prior  to  his  retreat,  from  the 
singular  courtesy  and  humanity  of  his  character,  he  sent  to  their 
homes  the  American  officers  who  had  fallen  into  his  power,  adminis- 
tering generously  to  all  their  wants.  He  exercised  the  same  humanity 
towards  the  common  soldiers.  The  greater  part  were  almost  naked: 
he  caused  them  to  be  completely  clothed,  and  set  them  at  liberty 
after  having  taken  their  oath  that  they  would  not  serve  against  the 
armies  of  the  king."— (i?o«a.)  ^ 

Early  in  December,  the  British  secured  another  important  position 
in  New  England.  A  fleet,  under  Sir  Peter  Parker,  with  large  forces 
of  English  and  Hessians,  commanded  by  General  Clinton,  entered 
Narragansett  Bay.  The  island  of  Ehode  Island,  with  thos;  of  Con- 
an«3ut  and  Prudence,  were  occupied  without  resistance;  the  ex- 
cellent harbour  of  Newport  afforded  admirable  facilities  for  future 
operations  by  sea;  and,  as  the  entrance  to  the  bay  was  commanded 
the  American  squadron,  under  Commodore  Hopkins,  together  with 
a  number  of  private  armed  vessels,  was  prevented  from  putting  to 
sea,  and  rendered,  for  the  time,  useless. 

So  dark  were  the  prospects  of  the  patriots,  at  this  crisis,  that  many 
among  the  most  sanguine  were  discouraged;  and,  of  the  wavering 
and  of  those  who,  at  heart,  favoured  the  royal  cause,  great  numbers 
availed  themselves  of  the  offers  proclaimed  bv  the  Howes   bv  ac- 


274 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTOKY. 


knovvlcdging  allegiance  to  the  king,  and  the  acceptance  of  a  British 
protection.  Alien  and  Galloway,  former  members  of  the  continental 
congress,  from  Pennsylvania,  were  among  the  number  of  those  who 
thus  avowed  their  disapproval  of  the  revolution,  or  their  distrust  in 
the  ability  of  its  advocates  to  carry  out  the  great  design. 


CONGRESS   AT   BALTIMORK,  —  ARMY   ORGANIZATION.  —  POWERS 
CONFERRED   UPON  WASHINGTON.  —  PASSAGE  OF  THE  DELA- 
WARE, AND   RECOVERY   OF   TRENTON.  —  BATTLE  OF   PRINCE- 
TON.—  END   OF   THE   CAMPAIGN. — MARAUDING   PARTIES 
—  NEGOTIATION    WITH   EUROPEAN    POWERS. — FOR- 
EIGN   OFFICERS    IN    THE    AMERICAN    SERVICE. 


Congress,  being  in  session  at  Philadelphia  when  the  continental 
army  was  driven  across  the  Delaware,  found  itself  in  too  dangerous 
proximity  to  the  British  army,  and  an  adjournment  to  Baltimore 
speedily  followed  the  establishment  of  the  latter  at  Trenton.  The 
details  of  military  organization  necessarily  occupied  almost  the  un- 
divided attention  of  this  body.  The  straits  to  which  the  continental 
army  was  reduced,  by  the  diminution  of  its  numbers,  consequent 
upon  the  expiration  of  terms  of  enlistment,  rendered  the  establish- 
ment of  a  more  permanent  force  a  matter  of  pressing  necessity. 
This  measure  had,  all  along,  been  vehemently  urged  by  Washington 
who  had  fully  experienced  the  difficulty  of  preserving  discipline  in 
an  army  whose  materials  were  subject  to  constant  change.  Pro- 
vision, therefore,  was  made  for  the  enlistment,  by  apportionment 
among  the  provinces,  of  troops  to  serve  during  the  war,  or  for  a 
period  of  three  years.  The  first,  in  addition  to  a  present  bounty 
in  money,  were  to  receive  each  one  hundred  acres  of  public  land 
on  retiring  from  service. 

Absolute  discretionary  powers  were,  at  the  same  time,  bestowed 
upon  the  commander-in-chief,  for  the  six  months  succeeding,  "to  call 
into  service  the  militia  of  the  several  states;  to  form  such  magazines 
of  provisions,  and  in  such  places  as  he  should  think  proper;  to  dis- 
place and  appoint  all  officers  under  the  rank  of  brigadier-general, 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION.  275 

allowing  a  reason abe  nrice  fnr  tl,o  oo,.,^.  *  ,  ' 

the  proofs  to  substantiate  them."    Very^aree  addifionll  . 

paper  money  bad   been  .ade  during  CfLlttd  iTi: 
strmgent  regulations  soon  followed  to  enforce  its  receipt 

Never  were  the  powers  of  a  dictator  more  worthily  bestowed  than 
.n  h,s  .nstance.  General  Washington  exhibited,  ia'^^he  mil  o  y 
state  of  affairs  consequent  upon  the  capture  of  N  w  YorCan  e„  r  ' v 
corresponding  to  the  requirements  of  his  position.  The  arm^  hid 
been  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Lee's  division,  under  SulliZ  and 
y  the  mi  itia  from  the  adjoining  counties.  Thus  strengthenei'e 
determined  to  enter  at  once  ui,on  offensive  operations.  ' 

The  enemy  s  force  being  widely  extended  along  the  left  bank  of 
the  De  aware,  a  division  of  fifteen  hundred  men.^mostly  Hes!ians 
under  Ralle  constituted  the  entire  army  of  occupation  at  Tr^n  on 
On  the  night  of  December  26th,  Washington  crossed  the  r  ve    with 
twenty-five  hundred  men,  nine  miles  above  the  city.     The  cold  w^ 
severe,  and  the  stream  being  blocked  with  floating  ice  nearlvr 

At"f::foMT"Tn'"  '''  ^^^^"^^^  of  transp'orTir'"  " 
At  four  0  clock,  on  the  following  morning,  the  army  was  put  in 
motion,  in  two  div.sions-one  following  the  fiver,  the  o^hlrprold 
ing  by  the  Pennington  road,  further  to  the  left.  Although  it  nroved 
..practicable,  from  the  state  of  the  roads,  and  the  dilc  ^1 
night  march-rendered  doubly  arduous  by  an  inclemen  wintry 
t  ™  to  arrive  before  day,  the  surprise  was  no  less  comp  e^ 
1  e  ressians  were  overpowered,  and  driven  in  on  all  sides  thc,> 
retreat  was  cut  off  in  the  direction  of  Princeton;  thei     omma    1 

s  slam    and  two-thiids  of  the  whole  force  surr'endered  71^. 
t.on.    The  remainder  escaped  by  the  Bordentown  road.     The  Amer 

tXi::    ''V'T  "''  '''''  P"^^"^-'  ^-"g  -stai  ed  but 
a  trifling  loss-only  about  ten,  in  killed  and  wounded. 

A  few  days  subsequent,  Washington  having  again  occupied  Tren- 

ZZT    ,T''  ""'"  ^"'""'''"'^'  Wroached  the  town  from 

he  d,re  tion  of  Princeton.     One-half  of  thev  American  forces  w^r^ 

undisciplined  militia,  and  all  were  ill  prepared  for  the  hard«h  psTf  ! 


276 


THE  l'EOrLE'8  BOOK  OF  HIBTOBY. 


winter  campaign.  A  general  engagement  would  have  been  hazard- 
ous in  the  extreme,  and,  at  a  council  of  the  American  officers,  it 
was  concluded  to  make  an  attempt  at  turning  the  enemies'  flank. 
Precautions  were  taken  to  leave  the  impression  that  active  prepara- 
tions were  in  process  for  intrenchment,  while  the  main  army  (on  the 
night  of  January  2d,  1777,)  silently  defiled  upon  the  Allentown 
roud,  towards  Princeton. 

At  the  latter  place,  three  British  regiments,  left  in  the  rear  hy 
Cornwallis,  were  encountered.  One  of  these,  after  some  hard  fight- 
ing, pushed  on  towards  Trenton:  the  other  two,  having  sustained 
considerable  loss,  retreated  to  Brunswick.  Some  three  hundred 
prisoners  were  taken  by  the  Americans. 

The  British,  at  Trenton,  deceived  by  the  continuance  through  the 
night  of  the  patrol  within  the  American  lines,  and  by  the  camp-fires, 
which  had  been  replenished  before  the  march  commenced,  had  no 
intimation  of  the  state  of  affairs  until  they  heard  the  sound  of  artil- 
lery in  their  rear.  Cornwallis  immediately  marched  for  Brunswick 
to  protect  his  military  stores  at  that  place,  and  Washington,  still 
anxious  to  avoid  a  general  engagement,  moved  towards  Morristown, 
where  he  established  the  array  in  winter-quarters. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  New  Jersey  was  thus  recovered  from  the 
enemy,  and  detachments  were  quartered  at  different  points  to  retain 
possession.  Through  the  remainder  of  the  winter  and  spring,  neither 
army  was  engaged  in  any  general  military  operation.  The  British 
army  was  stationed  at  Amboy  and  Brunswick,  suffering  no  small 
inconvenience  from  failure  of  provisions.  Frightful  outrages  were 
committed  by  small  marauding  parties  of  soldiery.  The  Hessians, 
in  particular,  were  stigmatized  as  monsters  of  cruelty.  A  blpody 
retaliation  was  not  slow  to  follow,  and  many  of  the  loyalists  of  New 
Jersey,  even  such  as  had  held  aloof  from  all  share  in  political 
controversy,  and  could  be  accused  of  no  overt  act  of  opposition  to 
the  patriots,  too  often  were  compelled  to  suffer  for  wrongs  in  which 
they  had  no  share. 

While  the  national  forces  were  thus  in  comparative  repose,  the 
calamities  of  a  state  of  war  were  still  widely  felt.  Privateers 
scoured  the  sea,  and  their  crews  and  commanders,  growing  bolder 
by  experience,  pushed  their  adventures  in  waters  where,  at  first, 
it  was  deemed  rashness  to  intrude.  Prizes  taken  by  American 
vessels  were  disposed  of  without  trouble  in  France.  Old  national 
feelings  of  jealousy  and  antipathy  caused  the  government  of  that 


\ 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


277 


country  to  wink  at  irregularitiea  which  operated  6nly  to  the  injury 
of  her  rival. 

Congress  had  not  failed,  ere  this,  to  commission  ambassadors  to 
various  European  courts,  to  solicit  political  aid  and  acknowledgment 
of  the  independence  of  the  states.  Those  who  filled  this  important 
oflice  at  the  court  of  France,  were  Benjamin  Franklin,  Silas  Deane, 
and  Arthur  Lee.  The  favour  with  which  the  American  claims  were 
regarded  in  that  quartei'  was  manifest,  and  had  been  substantially 
ahowii,  even  before  the  declaration  of  independence,  by  an  ingenious 
and  secret  operation  for  furnishing  military  supplies  to  the  colonies. 
These  had  been  forwarded  to  islands  in  the  West  Indies,  aa  by 
private  adventure,  thence  to  be  disp.xtched  for  the  use  of  the  colonies. 
France,  however,  was  not  as  yet  prepared  to  enter  into  open  contro- 
versy with  England,  by  an  acknowledgment  of  the  independent 
existence  of  the  American  republic. 

Many  military  officers,  from  France  and  other  European  nations, 
were  anxious  to  procure  commissions  in  the  American  service; 
Many  were  sent  over  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  Deane,  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  receiving  high  commissions.  Some  of  these  proved 
worthy  of  the  confidence  placed  in  them,  particularly  those  em- 
ployed in  the  engineer  department;  others,  although  doubtless  men 
of  capacity  and  competent  military  education,  were  entirely  unfitted 
to  deal  with  a  soldiery  of  the  character  of  the  continental  army. 
Among  those  whose  services  were  accepted,  the  most  celebrated,  were 
the  German  Baron  de  Kalb,  the  Polish  officers  Kosciusko  and 
Pulaski,  and  the  young  Marquis  de  la  Fayette.  The  latter  came 
over  from  France  at  his  own  expense,  and  volunteered  to  serve 
without  pay.  He  was  made  major-general,  and  became  the  intimate 
friend  and  companion  of  the  commander-in-chief. 


278 


Tll'.   l'KOI'LK'8   HOOK  OF   I1I8T0HY. 


LiiAPTEH    Xv. 


EXPEDITIONS  AOAINST  PKEK8KILI,  AND  DANnURY.  —  BRITISH 

PLAN   OP   CAMPAIGN. — HOWE'S  DEPARTURE  PROM  NEW  YORK. 

—  BURdOYNE'S    ARMY:    HIS    PROCLAMATION. — 8IE0E    Op 

TICONDKROO  A.  —  RETREAT   OF   ST     CLAIR.  —  BUROOYNK 

ON    THE    IIunaON, — SIEOB    OP    F'lHx    SCHUYLER. 

BATTLE    OP    BENNINGTON. — INDTVN    WARFARE. 


The  spring  of  1777  TptrnGd  by  without  any  important  o{)eration 
on  the  part  of  either  of  ♦!  ,  ,iin  contending  armies.  The  PJiiglish 
succeeded  in  destroying  large  quantities  of  American  stores  at  Peeks- 
kill,  on  the  Hudson,  and  at  Danbury,  in  the  western  part  of  Con- 
necticut. The  latter  expedition  was  intrusted  to  governor  then 
General  Tryoil,  with  a  detachment  of  no  less  than  two  thousand 
men.  Ilis  retreat  was  not  accomplished  without  loss,  the  militia  of 
the  vicinity,  under  Arnold  and  Wooster,  harassing  him  by  repeated 
attacks.  Wooster  received  a  fatal  wound  in  one  of  these  encounters. 
The  bravery  of  Arnold,  on  this  occasion,  was  highly  commended 
and  rewarded  by  promotion. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  small  force  from  Connecticut,  crossing  over 
to  Long  Island,  proceeded  to  Sag-harbour,  destroyed  British  stores 
and  vessels,  and  took  nearly  a  hundred  prisoners. 

The  important  events  of  the  summer  and  autumn,  transpirint^  in 
different  portions  of  the  country,  and  connected  with  distinct  mili- 
tary operations,  must  be  examined  without  reference  to  the  date  of 
their  occurrence.  The  British  plan  of  campaign  was,  that  Howe's 
army  should  engage  the  attention  of  the  main  body  of  the  continent- 
als,  threatening  Philadelphia  and  other  important  towns  in  the 
middle  states,  while  a  powerful  force,  under  Burgoyne,  was  to  invade 
Nev  I'.icjl.md,  seizing  and  occupyin</  the  miHtary  posts  on  Cham- 
plain  .<xiid  fhe  Hudson,  ( ,)\i(  t'ng  a  junction  with  the  forces  at  New 
Ycrk,  and  cuiimg  off  communication  between  the  north  and  south. 

Ilowe,  after  various  manoeuvres,  intended  to  bring  about  a  gen- 
eral engagement— the  result  of  which  could  hardly  be  doubtful, 
considering  the  difference  in  numbers  and  equipments  between  the 
opposing  forces— crossed  over  to  Staten  Island,  embarked  with  six- 


— BRlTrSH 
KW  YOIIK, 
FKOE    OP 
KIOYNK 
KU  — 
ARE. 

it  oi)erat,ion 
t'lie  Kiiglinh 
es  at  Teeks- 
lart  of  Con- 
ernor,  tlien 

0  thousand 
e  militia  of 
by  repeated 
encounters, 
iommended, 

ossing  over 
ritish  stores 

inspiring  in 
stinct  mili- 
the  date  of 
hat  Howe's 
3  continent- 
vns  in  the 
IS  to  invade 
on  Chain- 
'ces  at  New 
and  south. 
)out  a  gen- 
i  doubtful, 
etween  the 

1  with  six- 


?irv 


■^  --rfr 


-^Wi 


-!via»^s 


■■/'/ty' 


i:  u  u  K  s  T  li  I A  X  i'  (,  ft  T II  .1 1  r   u  ^   /,  ^  /^  ^   ,.  „  ,^  ,_.  ,j.  , ,  ,  ,  ^_ 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


279 


teen  thousand  men,  and  made  sail,  in  the  month  of  July,  without 
any  intimation  of  his  destination  having  transpired. 

In  Canada,  Burgoyne,  who  had  received  the  chief  command  of 
the  army  of  the  north,  commenced  preparations  in  May  He  was 
enabled  to  marshal  a  fine  army  of  seven  thousand  regulars  British 
and  Germans,  an  artillery  corps  of  five  hundred,  and  seven  hundred 
Canadians,  destined  for  the  various  duties  of  rangers,  woodmen  &c 
In  addition  to  this,  a  grand  meeting  of  the  Iroquois  Indians' was 
cnllod  and  their  services  were  secured  by  additional  promises  of 
reward  and  protection.  A  flaming  proclamation  was  next  is.sued 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  New  Eixgknd  loyalists,  and  the  intim- 
idation of  the  rebels.  He  promised  protection  to  those  who  should 
"quietly  pursue  their  occupations,"  and  full  pay  for  all  that  should 
be  furnished  for  the  army;  the  contumacious  were  threatened  with 
the  "thousands  of  Indians  that  were  under  his  direction,"  and  whose 
fury  was  to  be  let  loose  upon  those  who  should  take  part  a-ainst 
the  king.  -^         ° 

Passing  the  lake,  Burgoyne  laid  siege  to  Ticonderoga,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  month  of  July.     The  garrison,  under  St  Clair 
was  entirely  msufficient  for  the  protection  of  the  fort.     It  numbered' 
including  militia,  about  three  thousand  men,  but  the  works  were 
very  extensive,  and  the  troops  were  ill  provided  with  arms      A 
retreat  was  effected  on  the  night  of  the  5th,  but  the  Americans  were 
unable  tc  gam  sufficient  time  upon  the  enemy.     The  ba-ga-e  and 
stores  were  dispatched  up  Wood  Creek,  towards  Skeenesborough 
now  Whitehall,  which  place  was  appointed  for  general  rendezvous 
A  bridge  and  other  obstructions  were  soon  removed  by  the  British 
and  free  passage  was  opened  to  the  creek.     The  boats  containin<^ 
the  stores  were  pursued  and  captured.  ° 

The  army,  retreating  in  the  same  direction  by  land,  was  hotly 
pursued  by  a  detachment  of  the  enemy,  under  General  Fraser  The 
rear  division  was  overtaken,  on  the  7th  of  July,  and  comj.letely 
routed.  The  main  body,  led  by  St.  Clair,  reached  General  Schuy- 
lers  head-qyarters,  at  Fort  Edward,  on  the  Hudson  river,  after  a 
toilsome  march  over  rough  roads  through  the  wilderness. 

Notwithstanding  every  effort  made  to  delay  and  obstruct  the 
advance  of  the  enemy,  by  blocking  up  the  forest-roads,  and  choking 
the  channel  of  the  narrow  creek  which  connects  with  the  southern 
extremity  of  Lake  Champlain,  Burgoyne  penetrated  to  the  Hudson, 
before  the  close  of  the  month.     Evacuating  Fort  Edward,  on  the 


280 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OP  HISTOEY. 


approach  of  the  British,  General  Schuyler  retreated  to  Saratoga 
thence  to  Stillwater,  and,  the  enemy  continuing  to  press  onward  he 
finally  encamped  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk. 

These  disasters,  at  the  north,  were  popularly  attributed  to  incompe- 
tency on  the  part  of  the  commanding  officers,  who  were  accordingly 
superseded  by  Generals  Gates,  Arnold,  and  Lincoln.  Reinforcements 
including  the  body  of  riflemen,  under  the  redoubted  Morgan,  were 
also  ordered,  in  all  haste,  to  the  seat  of  war  at  the  north. 

Before  proceeding  down  the  river,  Burgoyne  was  desirous  of  col- 
lecting stores  and  provisions  at  his  camp  on  the  Hudson,  by  the 
route  laid  open  from  the  head  of  Lake  Cham  plain.  Meanwhile,  two 
excursions  were  planned  and  attempted  at  the  west  and  east.  Gen- 
eral Barry  St.  Leger,  with  several  companies  of  regulars,  and  a  lari^e 
body  of  Indians,  under  command  of  Joseph  Brant,  early  in  August 
besieged  Fort  Schuyler,  an  important  military  post,  situated  near  the 
head-waters  of  the  Mohawk.  General  Herkimer,  with  nearly  a 
thousand  of  the  provincial  militia,  endeavoured  to  relieve  the  fort 
but  fell  into  an  ambuscade  prepared  by  Brant  with  his  followers 
and  an  English  detachment.  A  bloody  but  indecisive  engagement 
ensued,  known  as  the  "battle  of  Oriskany."  Herkimer  was  killed, 
together  with  several  hundred  of  his  followers.  The  enemy's  loss 
was  probably  about  the  same;  and,  although  no  communication  was 
opened  with  the  fort,  the  commandant,  Willett,  was  enabled  to 
make  a  sally,  and  to  plunder  the  British  encampment  of  stores  and 
provisions. 

A  detachment,  principally  Hessians,  under  Colonel  Baum,  was  also 
dispatched  by  Burgoyne,  to  procure  cattle  and  other  plunder  in  the 
eastern  settlements.  The  seizure  of  stores  accumulated  at  Bennini?- 
ton,  was  the  special  object  of  the  expedition.  Colonel  Stark,  having 
command  of  the  militia  in  that  quarter,  learning  the  approach  of  the 
enemy,  made  every  effort  to  prepare  for  resistance. 

Baum,  finding  himself  opposed  by  a  superior  force,  halted  near 
the  town,  and  commenced  throwing  up  intrenchments.  On  the 
16th  of  August,  he  was  attacked,  and  utterly  defeated*  by  the  pro- 
vincials. Reinforcements  arrived  simultaneously  on  either  side- 
Colonel  "Warner  making  his  appearance  with  a  regiment  of  conti- 
nental troops,  from  Manchester,  at  the  same  time  that  a  strong  force, 
under  Colonel  Breyman,  sent  to  support  Baum's  division,  was  en- 
gaged with  the  American  militia.  The  Americans  maintained  their 
advantage;  the  British  effected  a  retreat  at  nightfall,  having  sustained 


THE  AMERICAN   EEVOLUTION. 


281 


a  loss  of  about  eight  hundred  in'  killed  and  prisoners.  A  most  sea- 
sonable supply  of  arms  and  artillery  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  pro- 
vincials.    Of  the  latter,  only  about  sixty  were  killed  or  wounded. 

A  few  days  later,  Arnold  relieved  Fort  Schuyler,  and  seized  upon 
the  tents  and  stores  of  the  besieging  army,  abandoned  in  hasty 
retreat.  Many  of  the  Iroquois  allies  of  the  English  became  dis- 
heartened at  these  reverses,  and  drew  off.  Generally,  however,  they 
were  proof  against  the  eflforts  of  agents  in  behalf  of  the  Americans 
to  secure  their  services,  or  promises  of  neutrality.  Outrages  com- 
mitted by  the  savages  on  the  march,  their  cruelty  to  prisoners,  and 
their  ferocious  manner  of  warfare,  excited  universal  indignation 
against  Burgoyne,  who  was  considered  responsible  for  all  the  enor- 
mities committed.  We  are  informed  that  he  used  what  influence 
he  possessed  over  the  chiefs,  to  induce  conformity  with  the  rules  of 
civilized  warfare;  but  what  would  previous  exhortation  or  threats 
avail,  in  the  midst  of  the  dangers  and  excitement  of  actual  conflict? 
The  check  given  to  the  British  at  Bennington  and  Port  Schuyler, 
gave  great  encouragement  to  the  Americans;  and  it  was  now  seen 
that  the  provincial  militia,  under  brave  and  energetic  commanders, 
was  a  more  effective  force  than  it  had  generally  been  considered. 


CHAPTEH^  I?L 

BATTLES    AT    BEHMU8'    HEIGHTS.  —  BDROOTNE'S  RETREAT  TO 
SARATOGA:   HIS  SURRENDER.  —  DETENTION  OP   PRISONERS. 

—EXPEDITION    PROM    NEW    YORK    UP     THE    HUDSON. 

HOWE'S    MARCH    UPON    PHILADELPHIA.  —  BATTLE    AT 
BRANDTWINE    CREEK. — BRITISH     OCCUPATION    OF 

PHILADELPHIA. BATTLE    OF    6ERMANT0WN. — 

REDUCTION   OF   FORTS  MIFFLIN  AND   MERCER. — 
WINTER-QUARTERS    AT    VALLEY    FORGE. 


BuBGOYNE,  having  procured  provisions  for  a  month's  campaign, 
crossed  the  Hudson,  and  continued  his  progress  southward.  The 
American  army,  numbering  about  six  thousand  men,  and  com- 
manded by  General  Gates,  lay  encamped  upon  Behmus'  heights,  on 
the  west  bant  of  the  river.     The  place  presented  natural  facilities 


282 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


for  defence,  of  which  duo  advantage  had  been  taken  in  the  disposj. 
tion  of  the  camp,  and  the  formation  of  batteries  and  intronchmcnts 

On  the  19th  of  September,  an  indecisive  battle  was  foudit  in 
•which,  ultliough  tlie  British  remained  masters  of  the  field,  at  tii'rlit. 
fall,  they  sustained  much  the  heaviest  loss,  the  number  of  killed 
and  wounded  on  either  side  being,  respectively,  less  than  three 
hundred  and  over  five  hundred.  Two  days  previous  to  this  event 
coinniuhioation  with  Canada  had  been  cut  off,  by  the  surprise  ami 
ciijiturc  of  the  British  forts  on  Lake  George,  so  that  notliin.r  i,i,|; 
brilliant  success  could  now  enable  Burgoync  to  maintain  hiin.self  in 
the  enemy's  country.  He  anxiously  awaited  promised  reinforce- 
ments from  New  York. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  the  British  troops  again  offered  battle 
The  American  forces  had  been  increased  by  new  recruits,  and  exhij^ 
crated  by  the  remembrance  of  recent  successes,  and  the  repute  1 
destitution  of  the  enemy,  they  fought  with  courage  and  inipetuositv 
Arnold  exhibited  his  usual  energy  and  bravery.  The  enemy  were 
driven  back  to  their  camp,  and  a  portion  of  their  intrenclmients  was 
ft)rced  and  held  by  a  Massachusetts  regiment,  under  Colonel  Hrook,s 

Burgoyne  drew  off  his  forces  during  the  night,  and  took  up  a 
new  position,  which  he  held  during  the  day  ensuing.  On  the  9th 
he  retreated  to  Saratoga.  lie  was  here,  in  a  manner,  surrounded 
by  the  Americans,  who  had  occupied  the  only  passes  by  which  a 
reti-eat  northward  could  be  effected,  and  who  pressed  upon  him  in 
his  position,  the  British  camp  being  within  reach  of  their  artillery 
Provisions  could  no  longer  be  procured,  and  the  supply  on  hand  was 
nearly  expended.  Communications  were  therefore  opened  and  a 
capitulation  was  agreed  upon,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  whole 
British  army,  to  the  number  of  more  than  five  thousand  men  be- 
came prisoners-of-war. 

It  was  agreed  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  country 
but  that  none  of  them  should  serve  further  in  the  war,  unless  made 
subJecLs  of  exchange  for  American  prisoners.  All  their  artillery  ' 
arms,  and  munitions  of  war,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans! 
Upon  various  pretexts,  a  compliance  with  the  agreement  Ibr  the 
embarkation  of  these  prisoners,  was  delayed  and  evaded  by  coni^reiis. 
Burgoyne  was  i)ermitted  to  sail  for  Kiighuid,  but  his  army  was 
detained,  a  resolution  being  pas.sed  that  no  further  action  should  be 
taken  upon  the  premises,  until  the  Saratoga  convention  should  be 
expressly  ratilied  l)y  the  Britisli  goveninient,  and  a  notificatiou  to 


TII£   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION, 


283 


that  effect  be  forv.-arded  to  the  American  congress.  The  result  was, 
that  none  of  these  prisoners  obtained  their  liberty  except  by  regular 
exchange. 

The  forces  dispatched  by  Clinton,  from  New  York,  to  force  a 
passage  up  the  Hudson,  and  cooperate  with  Burgoyne,  although 
unable  to  effect  the  main  purpose  of  the  expedition,  did  much  mis- 
chief to  the  Americans.  Obstacles  to  navigation,  in  the  shape  of 
huge  chains,  sunken  impediments,  &c.,  were  successfully  overcome, 
and  the  forts  on  the  Highlands  v/ere  stormed  or  abandoned.  All 
the  artillery  at  these  important  strongholds  became  prize  to  the 
enemy.  A  great  amount  of  damage  was  wantonly  inflicted  upon 
the  settlements  near  the  river.  Not  content  with  plunder,  the  in- 
vaders burned  and  destroyed  every  thing  within  their  reach. 

We  will  now  revert  to  the  operations  of  the  main,  continental 
army,  guided  by  ^Vnahington  in  person.  Towards  the  close  of 
August  (1777),  Admiral  Howe  entered  the  Chesapeake,  and  disem- 
barked the  entire  force  on  board  his  fleet  at  Elk  Ferry,  the  nearest 
available  landing  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  which  was  now  obvi- 
ously the  object  of  attack.  Upon  the  first  intimation  of  the  enemy's 
approach,  Washington  had  marched  to  intercept  his  advance,  and 
had  taken  up  his  quarters  at  Wilmington,  on  Brandywine  creek,  in 
the  direct  route  f  nm  Elk  Ferry  to  Philadelphia.  He  had  collected 
a  force  of  fifleen  thousand  men;  that  of  the  British  was  superior  in 
numbers,  and  in  far  better  condition  for  service. 

On  the  11th  of  September,  the  American  army,  having  taken  a 
new  position  on  the  left  bank  of  tiie  creek,  was  attacked  by  the 
enemy.  Cornwallis,  by  a  circuit,  and  by  passage  of  the  creek  a  con- 
siderable distance  up  the  stream,  succeeded  in  turning  the  American 
flank.  Sullivan's  division,  in  tliat  quarter,  was  driven  in,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  a  division,  under  Kniphausen,  crossed  the  shan'ow 
river,  and  fell  upon  the  central  division  of  Washington's  army.  The 
latter  was  defeated,  with  a  loss  of  not  far  from  twelve  hundred  men. 
Tliat  of  the  enemy  was  reported  to  be  six  hundred.  A  retreat  was 
effected  to  Chester,  and  thence,  pa.ssing  through  Philadelphia,  the 
army  marched  to  Germantown,  where  an  encampnicnt  was  formed. 
In  the  action  on  the  Brandywine,  several  foreign  officers  distin- 
guished themselves.  La  Fayette  was  wounded  in  the  engage- 
ment. The  services  of  Count  Pulaski  were  rewarded  by  immediate 
promotion. 

On  the  16th,  Washington  erossed  the  Schuylkill  and  ende.ivoured 


284 


THE  PEOPLE'S    BOOK  OF   HISTORY. 


to  check  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  A  violent  rain  storm  came  on 
just  as  the  armies  were  engaging,  by  which  the  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion of  the  Americans  were  rendered  unserviceable:  they,  therefore 
retreated,  and  encamped  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  some  distance 
above  Philadelphia.  A  portion  of  the  army,  under  Wayne,  endeav- 
oured to  gain  the  enemy's  rear;  but,  on  the  night  of  the  20th  the 
position  of  its  encampment  became  known  to  the  British  commander 
and  it  was  attacked  and  driven  off  with  heavy  loss. 

A  few  days  later,  Howe  crossed  the  Schuylkill  farther  down  and 
entered  Philadelphia  without  opposition.  Congress,  having  extended 
and  enlarged  the  dictatorial  powers  confided  to  the  commander-in- 
chief,  and,  having  passed  laws  rendering  it  a  capital  offence  for  resi- 
dents in  the  vicinity  of  towns  occupied  by  the  enemy  to  furnish 
them  with  provisions,  &c.,  had  adjourned  to  Lancaster.  The  princi- 
pal British  camp  was  formed  at  Germantown. 

Communication  was  not  yet  opened  between  the  city  and  the  tide- 
waters of  the  bay,  strong  fortifications  and  obstructions  having  been 
planted  by  the  Americans,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Schuylkill  from 
the  Delaware.  While  a  portion  of  the  enemy's  force  was  detached 
to  make  an  attempt  upon  these  works,  and  to  protect  the  transport- 
ation of  stores,  by  land,  from  Chester,  Washington  undertook  to 
surprise  the  main  body  at  Germantown.  The  very  circumstances 
that  enabled  him  to  come  upon  the  enemy  unperceived,  proved  dis- 
astrous for  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  The  morning  of  the  ith 
of  October,  when  the  attack  was  made,  was  unusually  dark  and 
foggy.  The  American  troops,  after  a  long  and  toilsome  march,  fell 
upon  the  British  camp  about  sunrise.  All,  for  a  time,  was  confu- 
sion, in  which  the  assailants  gained  a  temporary  advantage.  The 
British  soon  rallied,  and  availed  themselves  of  the  protection  aflorded 
by  the  buildings  to  form,  and  to  pour  a  heavy  fire  upon  their  oppo- 
nents. The  Americans  were  driven  off,  with  a  loss  of  more  tliaii  a 
thousand  men ;  that  of  the  British  was  less  than  two-thirds  of  that 
number. 

It  now  became  all  important  for  the  army  of  occupation  at  Phil.i- 
delphia,  to  reduce  the  forts  by  which  it  was  cut  ofl'from  the  fleet  in 
the  Delaware.  The  first  attempt  was  made  upon  Fort  Mercer,  on 
Bed  bank,  which  was  defended  by  troops  from  Ehode  Island,  under 
Greene.  The  storming  party  consisted  of  twelve  hundred  Hessians, 
led  by  Count  Donop.  A  complete  repulse,  with  the  loss  of  four 
hundred  of  the  assailants,  including  the  coninianding  olTicer,  demon- 


THE  AMERICAN   EEVOLUTION. 


285 


ftratcd  the  necessity  for  more  deliberate  and  systematic  approaches. 
Batteries  were  erected  to  play  upon  Fort  Mifflin,  situated  upon  a 
hw  mud-flat,  which  was  reduced,  after  a  brave  defence  of  several 
(lays.  The  ahips-of-war  were  now  enabled  to  bring  their  guns  to 
bear  with  effect  upon  Fort  Mercer,  and  its  evacuation  soon  followed 
Thus,  on  the  16th  of  November,  the  British  secured  complete  com- 
mand of  the  approaches  to  Philadelphia  by  water. 

Washington  soon  after  retired  with  his  army  to  a  strong  position 
at  Valley  Forge,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Schuylkill,  twenty  miles 
above  Philadelphia.  Here  he  established  winter-quarters  for  the 
troops,  consisting  of  regularly  arranged  rows  of  cabins.  The  greatest 
destitution  and  misery  existed  in  the  army,  most  of  the  men  being 
ill  supplied  with  clothing-especially  shoes-and  provisions  were 
often  to  be  procured  only  by  forcible  seizure.  The  supply  was  very 
irregular,  and,  at  times,  the  condition  of  the  camp  fell  little  short 
of  actual  famine. 


CHAPTEH   X?H. 

•DIFFICULTIES  OF  CONG  RESS— ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION 
—  RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  THE  STATES.  — INTRIGUES   AGAINST 
WASHINGTON.— TREATIES  WITH  FRANCE.  — BRITISH  COM- 
MISSIONERS   IN    AMERICA,— EVACUATION   OF    PHILA- 
DELPHIA.—B  A  TTLE    OF    MONMOUTH ARRIVAL   OF 

A    FRENCH    FLEET. — ATTEMPT    ON     NEWPORT. 

WINTER-QUARTERS.  — MARAUDING     EXPEDI- 
TIONS.— DESTRUCTION    OF    WYOMING. 

It  were  difficult  to  conceive  a  more  embarrassing  position  than 
that  of  the  continental  congress  at  this  juncture.  The  army  was 
reduced  in  numbers,  dispirited,  discouraged,  and  in  a  condition  of 
physical  want  and  suffering.  The  immense  issue  of  paper  money 
amounting  already  to  thirty  or  forty  millions,  had  necessarily  induced 
so  rapid  a  depreciation  in  its  value,  that  it  was  not  available  for 
purchases,  at  a  higher  rate  than  twenty-five  per  cent,  upon  its 
nominal  value;  and  yet  there  appeared  no  resource  for  government, 
other  than  continued  issues.     Loans  could  be  elfected  but  slowlv' 


280 


TIIK    I'KOl'LK'H    1U)()K    OK   IllS'l'OUy, 


and  to  luiioiJiits  iniscnibly  iiisufricieiit  for  the  cxigoiicies  of  llio  occa* 
sioii,  Tlio  iiunuiroiiH  Iuwh  and  iTgulul'u)iis  fur  fixing  ami  cstiibliHliinir 
tlio  ]ii'i(!i'H  of  goods,  for  rendering  distine.lion  betwoen  gold  and  con- 
tinental bills  a  ])enal  oll'ence,  and  for  the  preventing  of  "  Jurestiillinij 
and  engrossing,"  (viz:  tlie  buying  np  and  retention  of  neeessiiriorf 
on  speenlation,)  wero  exceedingly  diflicnlt  to  enforce,  and  were 
generally  evaded,  or  made  a  handle  for  the  gratification  of  privatu 
enmity. 

CuiigrcKH  liad  already  snbniitted  a  series  of  "Articles  of  CorifalcT- 
alioii"  to  the  separate  states,  which  were  subjects  of  long  and  vex- 
atious dispute;  a  greal.  hesitation  being  felt  at  tlie  reliiupiisliment 
of  individual  sovereignty,  in  exchange  for  the  benefits  and  pcrina- 
neney  uf  a  centralized  goveriunent.  It  was  now  earnestly  recoiu- 
mended  that  availabhi  I'uiids  should  be  raised  by  the  states  resort 
ln'iiig  had  for  this  pui'pose  to  direct  taxation,  to  meet  the  expenses 
ol'  the  coming  year;  tiiatstringent  provisions  -the  arbitrary  tiiitiircof 
which  was  acknowledged  and  lamented—should  be  cnlbrccd  ii^uiiisl 
i'oi'i'stallers  and  engrossers,  by  seizure  of  the  accumulated  property • 
to  l)e  paid  for  at  specilled  rates  in  contiiieutul  money,  and  lor  "cin'i,,! 
regulation  of  trade;  and  that  the  pro])erly  of  absent  loyalists  bu 
conliscated  for  public  purposes. 

'riie  series  {>['  disasters  which  had  befallen  the  main  army  liml 
given  ris(!  to  doubts  in  the  minds  of  many,  as  to  the  vigour  ami 
ciipaiiity  of  the  commander-in-chief.  Occasion  was  taken  hy  ihuso 
among  the  oll'ieers  of  the  army  and  leading  politicians,  who  wire 
jealous  of  his  ascendancy,  to  conspire  for  eHecting  his  rciiHiviil 
from  ollice.  This  movement  failed  to  allect  tlio  general  popularity 
of  Washington,  or  to  shake  the  confidence  of  congress  in  his  alulitics 
or  patriotism. 

The  close  of  January,  1778,  was  marked  by  the  conclusion  of  two 
separate  treaties  with  France.  No  event  since  the  eomineiicciiinit 
oi'  the  war  had  given  such  strength  to  the  ])atriotic  cause  as  this. 
'i'he  independence  of  the  states  was  acknowledged,  and  a  trcaly  for 
trade  and  commerce  negotiated.  Still  more  important  were  tlie 
provisions  of  the  second  treaty,  wliich  contained  stipulations  for 
mutual  defence,' in  anticipation  of  the  course  which  England,  if  con- 
sivStent  in  her  plaii.s,  must  necessarily  ado|)t. 

News  of  tlie  negotiation  of  these  treaties,  was  brought  over  to 
America  in  the  spring,  about  the  .same  time  that  intelligence  wns 
trunsmil.ted  of  a  willingness  on  the  part  of  the  British  govcriiiiieut 


iiiMiii  iiriiiv, 


iiy  Ins  rt'iiKival 
iiioriil  jH)|)uliirity 
3ssiii  his  aliilitiw 


;oiiclusion  ofUvo 

!    CUlllIllOllCLMIH'Ilt 

M  ciuiso  as  this, 
and  a  trciily  for 

)()rtaMt  wore  tlio 
8tij)nlatioii.s  for 
Kii<'laii(l,  if  COM- 


to  eftect  a  r 

all  claims  tc 

to  conduct  ; 

congress,  in 

the  crown,  r( 

ends.    Manil 

appeals  to  th 

of  the  leadin 

attemjjtiDg  tl 

resulted  in  s 

and  no  propc 

longer  entertj 

In  parliami 

the  necessities 

pendence,  woi 

National  prid 

however,  agai 

the  British  m 

government  \v 

William  Ilowe 

chief  com  mam 

abandonment  i 

centration  of  fi 

The  evacuat 

the  principal 

warded  to  New 

ately  put  in  mc 

for  a  favourab 

occasion  preser 

28th,  the  enem 

the  council  in  v 

second  in  comn 

with  the  commi 

Early  in  the 

who  were  aboul 

Lee  received  on 

up  with  the   n 

retreat,  and  pres 

he  addressed  L 

remembrance  of 

Vol.  IV. 


THE  AMJ5B1CAN   REVOLUTION.  287 

to  eflect  a  reconciliation  with  thn  or^Ur,•,^.  \     *i 
all  claims  to  impose  taxJ  IV  The  Z    '    ''         'i«"'^'^«i'^tion  of 
1     *  .    .    "^^"i  **«•     A  he  three  commiHs  oners  dpnntpH 

to  conduct  negouat  ons  for  this  purpose,  after  a  va  n  addre  s  to 
congress,  m  wh.ch  the  most  liberal  offers  were  made  b  beha     of 
the  crown,  resorted  to  every  species  of  intrigue  to  bring  about    .ei 
ends.     Mamfestoes,  calculated  toexcite  prejudice  againsf  the  lench 
appeals  to  the  separate  states,  slurs  upon  the  motives  and  pr Leiples 
0   the  Icadmg  patriots,  and  even  the  more  reprehonsible  cour  e  of 
attempting  the  integrity  of  individuals  by  the  offer  of  brUral 
resulted  in  s,gna    failure.     The  treaties  were  ratified  by  c  nl 

;:fgrenZ::::f  --' '''-' '-'  ^^  ^'-^^^^  ^-^^  Ancf  w: 

In  parliament  it  was  now  openly  advocated  that  submission  to 
the  necessities  of  the  case,  by  an  acknowledgment  of  Amer'an  indc 
pendence,  would  only  be  a  timely  anticipation  of  an  inevitable  resul 
National  pnde,  and  a  jealousy  of  French  interference  preva  led 
however,  aga.nst  every  argument  founded  upon  policy  or  rh^ht 
the  Br,t,sh  mmister  was  recalled  from  Paris,  and  the  attention  of 
government  was  devoted  to  the  detail  of  warlike  operations.     Si 
\ill.am  Howe  recalled  at  his  own  request,  was  superseded  in  the 
Cef  command  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton.     Orders  were  given  for  an 
abandonmerit  of  the  positions  at  and  near  Philadelphia,  and  a  con- 
centration  of  forces  at  New  York. 

The  evacuation  of  Philadelphia  was  effected  on  the  18th  of  June 
the  pnncpal  stores  and  baggage  of  the  army  having  been  for! 
warded  o  New  ^  ork  by  .sea.  The  American  forces  were  immedi- 
ately  put  in  motion,  to  harass  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  and  to  watch 
for  a  favourable  opportunity  for  a  general  engagement.  Such  an 
occasion  presented  itself  in  the  estimation  of  Washington,  on  the 
8th,  the  enemy  being  encamped  near  Monmouth  court-house.  At 
the  council  m  which  an  attack  wa.s  decided  upon.  General  Lee,  then 
second  ,,  eommand,  had  opposed  the  plan.  He  was  now  int;usted 
with  the  command  of  the  advance. 

Early  in  the  morning,  upon  the  first  movement  of  the  British 
who  were  about  to  take  up  their  line  of  march  towards  New  York' 
Lee  received  orders  from  his  superior  to  open  the  attack.  Coming 
up  with  the  main  army,  Washington  met  the  advance  in  full 
retreat  and  pressed  upon  by  the  enemy.  In  the  heat  of  the  moment 
he  addressed  Lee  with  terms  of  reproach,  which  rankled  in  the 
remembrance  of  that  proud  and  eccentric  officer,  but  which  did  r.ot 
^OL.  IV.— 47  ' 


288 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF    HISTORY. 


prevent  him  from  lending  his  utmost  exertions,  at  the  time,  in  car- 
r)'ing  out  the  orders  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  notion,  which  histed  until  nightfall, 
neither  jmrty  obtained  any  decisive  advantage.     The  British  sus- 
tained the  heavier  loss,   their  killed  and  wounded  amounting  to 
about  three  hundred  men;   that  of  the  Americans,  probably,  fell 
short  of  two  hundred.     The  former  continued  their  retreat  during 
the  night,  and  pushed  on  unmolested  to  the  Navesink  highlands, 
where  they  occupied  an  unas.sailablo  position.     It  does  not  appear 
that  General  Lee  was  guilty  of  any  dereliction  from  duty  in  this 
engagement:  his  retreat,  at  the  commencement,  was  before  a  supe- 
rior force,  the  British  having  assumed  an  offensive  attitude  with 
remarkable  promptitude  and  good  order,  and  his  own  position  being 
unfavourable  from  the  nature  of  the  ground.    In  consequence  of 
two  disrespectful  letters,  subsequently  written  to  Washington,  re- 
specting the  affair,  as  well  as  for  alleged  disobedience  of  orders, 
and  an  unnecessary  retreat,  he  was  tried  by  a  court-martial,  and 
Buspended  from  command  for  the  terra  of  one  year.    He  took  no 
further  part  in  the  war. 

Early  in  July,  a  powerful  French  fleet,  commanded  by  Count 
D'Estaing,  arrived  on  the  coast,  bringing  over  the  French  ambassa- 
dor Gerard,  and  about  four  thousand  troops.  Washington's  army 
had,  by  this  time,  moved  towards  the  Hudson,  and,  to  cooperate 
with  the  French  fleet  in  a  proposed  attack  upon  New  York,  now 
crossed  over  to  White  Plains.  The  British  forces  had  removed 
from  Navesink  to  the  city. 

The  larger  French  men-of-war,  from  their  great  draught  of  water, 
could  not  be  safely  taken  into  New  York  harbour,  and  it  was 
determined  to  commence  operations  by  an  attempt  at  the  recovery 
of  Newport,  still  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  and  protected  by 
a  force  of  six  thousand  men.  A  violent  storm  disconcerted  the 
arrangements  for  a  joint  attack  by  land  and  sea.  D'Estaing,  in 
endeavouring  to  engage  the  English  fleet,  suffered  so  much  injury 
in  his  shipping,  that  he  was  compelled  to  sail  for  Boston  to  repair 
damages.  The  American  forces,  under  Sullivan,  which  had  landed 
on  Khode  Island,  and  advanced  towards  Newport,  were  compelled 
to  abandon  the  attempt.  In  this  retreat,  they  were  pursued  and 
attacked  by  the  enemy,  whom  they  repulsed,  not  without  consider- 
able loss  on  both  sides. 

The  remaining  events  of  the  year,  although  replete  with 


.oeal 


THE   AMERICAN    « EVOLOTIOK. 


289 


The  ho«d-(,u«rtor8  of  tho  comma„dor.m.chirf  w«,  „f.  M  ,n,  !,     , 

A.  „„  period  of  .he  „.r  were  evidence.  gvro?„"twt°-  , 
relenlle.,  enmi.,  between  .l,e  p.,ri„„  „„d  loyalil  .hrdu  ^ns  th^ 
summer  and  luitumn  of  1778      Thn  nrorlnf^.,  ^ 

»ri.,.„  .OOP.  we.  „,.o  ,na..ed  ^  J^^Zr::;'^':^^ 
cruelty.     Not  content  with  plunder,  they  mnerallv  Zlj     i 
malic,  by  wanton  dctrnction  of  all  that'.h^ TJ  ^  tZe  t    - 
n,ove.      „  the  month  of  July,  a  party  of  about^hree  h undr  d  t^r",' 

New  Vo*  and  ™va;d'  .rbrti^^'^vaire;  J^'^^^lt  Th™ 
..  .nall  portion  of  .be  war,  he  :/b:rwa: -rrjrfa" irrtl' 

a.ery  .ale  of  indiirwotn":'.  d  our:"";!":,"::".'''  "'* 

learn.  Brant  w,«  of  a  more  hu.ane  di^it L^Th  anV^f  Ti': 

tl~'  "°°  '""""'  "'°"  """  '''"  ^■«-  P-^''-  '» 

At  Wyoming,  al.hough  the  ddruction  of-  the  ,.|tlement  „ 
,r.c,p„l ly  effected  by  .be  ferociou.  „„d  u„con.rolU  l'   "trf,," 
I.d..„.,  .l,e  mos.  revoLing  i„,ta„ces  of  blood-thir^.y  cruel.v  ol" 
-.^  .n  combat  between  the  whi.e».    I„  addition  to  Ae  p„  I,tr  I' 
...ween  „l„g  „„d  ,ory,  this  community  had  been  long'^dtar^ld 
,'  b,tler  enmity  between  two  diainc.  cl.,„e,  of  settlers   h„Tr 
tl.e.r  estates,  respectively,  under  the  eonfiictin.grantsofclnt,     ! 
..d   'ennsylvania.     Opportunity  was  ..ken  aule    ,W Z     J!' 
...n  for  the  revenge  of  old  family  and  clannish  quarrels 

ei:s-a^^ 


290 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HI8T0BY. 


CHAPTER   lYIII. 

INVASION   OF   GEORGIA.  —  OCCUPATION  OP   SAVANNAH. — BRITISH 
DIVISION    UNDER    PREVOST.  —  LINCOLN   IN   COMMAND   AT  THE 
SOUTH.  —  DEFEAT  OF   ASHE  AT   BRIAR  CREEK. — ATTACK 
ON   CHARLESTON.  —  SULLIVAN'S  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  THE 
IROUUOIS. — NAVAL  OPERATIONS  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENG- 
LAND.—  ATTEMPT   AT   A   RECOVERY   OF  SAVANNAH. 
— FURTHER  NAVAL  PROCEEDINGS:   PAUL  JONES. 
— CONDITION    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ARMY. 


Upon  the  departure  of  D'Estaing  for  the  "West  Indies,  the  Eng- 
lish fleet,  under  Admiral  Byron,  immediately  made  sail  in  pursuit. 
It  was  resolved,  at  the  same  time,  to  open  a  winter  campaign  in  a 
•new  quarter,  and  a  large  force  of  English  and  German  troops,  under 
command  of  Colonel  Campbell,  was  embarked  at  New  York  for  aa 
expedition  against  Georgia. 

The  continental  forces  stationed  at  Savannah,  amounting  to  less 
than  a  thousand  men,  were  under  command  of  the  American  General 
Howe.  Upon  the  approach  of  Campbell,  who  arrived  on  the  coast 
at  the  close  of  December,  1778,  a  defensible  position  was  taken  for 
the  purpose  of  intercepting  his  advance.  The  British,  in  greatly 
superior  force,  were  successful  in  turning  the  American  flank.  A 
negro  piloted  one  detachment  through  a  swamp,  between  which  and 
the  river  the  continental  army  was  stationed.  In  an  engagement 
which  ensued,  the  Americans  were  completely  routed ;  five  or  six 
hundred  were  taken  prisoners  or  killed.  The  British  loss  was 
trifling,  and  their  success  was  rewarded  by  an  immediate  occupation 
of  Savannah. 

Campbell  was  soon  joined  by  General  Prevost,  who,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  plan  of  the  southern  campaign,  had  been  ordered  to 
march  from  his  quarters  in  Florida,  to  assume  command  in  Georgia, 
and  cooperate  with  the  troops  from  New  York.  Georgia  thus  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  British. 

At  this  period.  General  Lincoln,  by  whom  Uowe  had  been  super- 
seded, in  command,  arrived  in  South  Carolina,  and  took  command 
of  the  continental  army  at  the  south.  The  regular  forces  under  his 
command,  together  with  militia  from  North  Carolina,  were  sufficient 


THE   AMERICAN  REVOLUTION. 


291 


nt1':t    d^^^^^^^^^^^  ir;  ?  P-^e  of  the  Savannah, 

the  British  hiTuI  t'rs  anrth.  T  ^^^-^--^iP"  between 
interest  predo^inairanl  There  the^T^^^^^^  f^'  ^  ^'""^  ^°^^ 
favourable  to  the  roy^l  causl  "^''  ^'^^  ^^"^^'^"^ 

Lincoln  commenced  active  operations  bv  detichin^  fifto      v. 
dred  men,  under  General  Ashp  tn  o.  ,  detaching  fifteen  hun- 

August.,  fr„,n  jvhich  .he  British  retired  CS  .he     ™  "Z 
circui.,  aud  f„lli„g^  upon  th7;ear^:i:  d  "  T"''  *"«  "?'" 

r;       1 '        ""'"^  *  P°'*'°^  «f  tte  militia  at  this  nost    h^ 

:;  ;tVvt'  *"  '"^  ''''■'"°«' '"'  ^'ved  i:t.?.„  ^zt 

b,  wh.oh  .,n>e  .ha  season  was  u„m  for  Lher  miliZ  lra«o    ' 
Durng  .ho  preced.ng  n,onth  of  May,  the  coast  of  Vi°i  n  a  "nd 

:".t:r„::;imYnrr7"^'5  --^  '-^''  ^ 

Clinton  from  New  York      The  J  v"'^  """"•  "^'"  <""  ''3' 

...  .araude.,  and!°:f.h  ^^  aXrofttlt^:;  eS 

ut  the  general  orders  to  burn  and  destroy  the  propert;  of  the  Xl 
ousc  1  t  Not  only  vessels  belongfng  to'heTolde^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
fleet  of  merchant  vessels  were  burned  or  sunk  in  the  riveLnd 

1.  if  '"'"'  ''^"^°""*  '^P'""^«^  ^^  «--ed  and  carried  off,  but  il^ 
value  bore  no  proportion  to  that  of  the  property  destroyed 
The  most  noticeable  invito .,,  o.-p^.,--,-    .  ./      '*''™J'^'^- 

'—"'-..._>  operauuiis  oi  the  summer,  were  the 


292 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


expedition  against  the  Iroquois,  and  the  contests  for  the  possession 
of  the  Amemcan  fortifications  at  Verplank's  Point  and  Stony  Point, 
on  the  Hudson.  Much  damage  was  done  by  a  marauding  expedition 
down  Long  Island  Sound,  led  by  General  Tryon.  On  the  north- 
eastern coast,  the  Americans  also  met  with  heavy  loss  in  an  unsuc- 
cessful expedition  against  a  military  post  of  the  enemy  on  the 
Penobscot. 

The  Indian  campaign  of  the  season  wad  conducted  by  General 
Sullivan.  With  a  force  of  five  thousand  men,  concentrated  at  Tioga, 
he  entered  the  territory  of  the  Six  Nations.  The  Indians,  under 
Brant,  assisted  by  a  body  of  tories,  commanded  by  the  Butlers  and 
by  Sir  John  and  Guy  Johnson,  made  a  strong  stand  at  Newtown, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Chemung  river,  but  their  position  was  not  tena- 
ble against  a  force  so  superior  as  that  now  brought  to  bear  upon 
them.  No  further  resistance  was  offered  to  the  advance  of  the  in- 
vaders, and  the  month  of  September  was  occupied  in  the  destruction 
of  Indian  villages  and  harvests. 

"These  Indian  tribes  had  made  no  little  advance  in  the  arts  of 
civilization.  The  Mohawks  had  mostly  fled  to  Canada  in  the  early 
times  of  the  revolution,  but  others  of  the  Iroquois,  particuLarly  the 
Cayugas  and  Senecas,  had  continued  to  cultivate  their  fields  and 
maintain  possession  of  the  homes  of  their  foretathers.  Immense 
orchards  of  apple  and  other  fruit  trees  were  growing  luxuriantly 
around  the  habitations,  but  all  fell  beneath  the  axe  of  the  destroyers. 
The  movement  of  so  large  a  body  of  troops  was  necessarily  slow, 
and,  as  no  precautions  were  taken  to  conceal  their  operations,  the 
Indians  were  every  where  enabled  to  escape  to  the  woods.  It  must 
have  been  with  feelings  of  the  bitterest  rage  and  despair  that  they 
saw  the  labour  of  so  many  years  rendered  useless,  and  thought  of 
the  coming  winter,  which  must  overtake  them,  a  wandering  and 
destitute  people,  who  must  perish,  or  rely  for  aid  upon  their  Can- 
adian allies."* 

The  French  and  English  fleets,  under  D'Estaing  and  Byron,  were 
occupied  during  the  winter,  spring,  and  summer  of  this  year,  at  the 
"West  Indies,  and  in  the  convoy  of  fleets  of  merchant  vessels,  bound 
homeward  from  the  islands  belonging  to  these  nations  respect- 
ively. The  most  important  naval  engagement  of  this  period, 
was  upon  the  occasion  of  the  capture  of  the  island  of  Grenada, 
by  D'Estaing,  in  the  month  of  July.  In  this  action,  the  British 
♦  The  Iroquois. — "Indian  Races  of  America." 


le  possession 
Stony  Point, 
ig  expedition 
n  the  north- 
in  an  unsuc- 
lemy  on  the 

1  by  General 
xted  at  Tioga, 
idians,  under 
i  Butlers  and 
at  Newtown, 
was  not  tena- 
to  bear  upon 
ice  of  the  in- 
le  destruction 

in  the  arts  of 
I  in  the  early 
rticularly  the 
3ir  fields  and 
rs.  Immense 
^  luxuriantly 
le  destroyers, 
icssarily  slow, 
perations,  the 
ods.  It  must 
pair  that  they 
id  thought  of 
andering  and 
ion  their  Can- 

I  Byron,  were 
is  year,  at  the 
/■essels,  bound 
tions  respect- 
this  geriod, 
.  of  Grenada, 
].  the  British 


sustained  a  \ 
their  ships, 

D'Estaing  i 
ing,  with  the 
eflbrt  to  rec( 
Siege  was  lai( 
September,  ai 
was  made  to 
assault.  A  n 
driven  off  wit 
trous  failure  i 
French  admin 
of  a  regular 
West  Indies. 

Notwithstai 

and  the  expec 

mer,  having  vi 

United  States 

finances  of  the 

tinental  paper 

already  amoui 

from  the   dist 

from  the  grea 

army,  sufferint 

pied  in  any  ii 

dispirited   by 

difficulty,  and, 

rily  had  to  a 

neither  Wasjiii 

it  advisable  to  : 

general  engage 

At  sea,  open 

fleets  of  France 

little  opportuni 

a  measure  succ( 

upon  British  cc 

Long  Island  S( 

tioned.    The  d£ 

holding  a  comi 

matters  of  wide 


THE  AMEKICAN   REVOLUTION.  293 

Sf  sTfps'  "'''  '"'^  '"^'  ''''  "  "^'^  ^"^  ^"  ^-^g«  done  to 

•  ^'^>l"';'if  T'"^^^^'^  *^«  «°^«t  °f  Georgia  in  the  month  follow- 
mg,  with  the  design  of  cooperating  with  the  continental  forces  in  an 
eflort  to  recover  the  territory  then  in  occupation  of  the  enemy 
S.ege  was  laid  to  Savannah  by  the  French  and  American  forcesfn 
September,  and  was  continued  until  October  9th,  when  an  attempt 
was  made  to  storm  the  British  outworks,  and  take  the  town  by 
assault.  A  most  gallant  defence  was  made,  and  the  assailants  were 
dnven  off  with  the  loss  of  more  than  a  thousand  men.  This  disas 
trous  failure  is  attributed  to  the  impatience  and  impetuosity  of  the 
French  admiral  who  had  become  weary  of  the  protracted  operation! 

wLltZ  "'^-     ""^  ^""^''^^^'^  -^''''-''''^  -^--^  to  the 
Notwithstanding  the  powerful  aid  already  furnis^d  by  France 
and  he  expected  assistance  of  Spain-that  nation,  during  the  sum! 

72:rZT'""'''  ''''"^'  "^^  ^S'^'"^*  England-the  alairs  of  the 
United   States   were    at  this  period,  far  from  prosperous.     The 

nances  of  the  confederacy  were  in  a  most  ruinous  condition;  con! 
tinental  paper  money  was  nearly  worthless,  from  the  enormous  issue 
already  amounting  to  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions' 
from  the  distant  period  when  payment  was  provided  for,  and 
from  the  great  uncertainty  of  any  future  redemption.  The  main 
army,  suffering  from  insufficient  and  irregular  supplies,  and  unoccu- 
pied in  any  important  movement,  was  reduced  in  numbers,  and 

ispinted   by  a  series  of  reverses.     Eecruits  were   obtained  with 
difficulty,  and,  to  maintain  a  respectable  force,  resort  was  neccssa- 

^..  w  u-  ''"^^^  "P°^  *^'  '''^'^'^-  Throughout  the  year 
neither  Wasjiington  nor  the  British  commander-in-chief  considered 
It  advisable  to  measure  the  strength  of  their  respective  forces  in  any 
general  engagement.  -^ 

At  sea  operations  against  England  were  mostly  conducted  by  the 
fleets  of  France  and  Spain.  The  small  naval  force  of  the  states  had 
I'ttle  opportunity  for  any  effective  service.  Privateers  were  still  in 
a  measure  successful,  and  it  was  in  revenge  for  injuries  committed 
upon  British  commerce  by  this  class  of  vessels,  that  the  seaports  on 
Long  Island  Sound  were  plundered  and  burned,  as  before  men- 
tioned. The  daring  achievements  of  John  Paul  Jones,  a  Scotchman 
Holding  a  commission  from  congress  as  a  naval  commander,  were 
matters  of  wide  celebrity.     In  September,  1779,  being  in  command 


294 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OP   HISTORY. 


of  a  French  and  American  squadron,  fitted  out  from  France,  he  fell 
in  with  a  British  fleet  of  merchant  vessels,  under  convoy  of  two 
vessels  of  war.  The  larger  of  these,  a  frigate  of  forty-four  guns 
named  the  Serapis,  engaged  the  Bonne  Ilomme  Eichard,  com- 
manded by  Jones,  and  carrying  forty-two  guns. 

The  combat  was  conducted,  for  the  most  part,  while  the  ships 
were  lashed  together,  each  pouring  in  a  heavy  fire  and  making  des- 
perate attempts  to  carry  the  enemy  by  boarding.  Both  vessels 
repeatedly  took  fire  during  the  engagement,  and,  when  the  Serapia 
finally  struct,  the  Bonne  Homme  Eichard  was  in  a  sinking  condi- 
tion, and  was  presently  abandoned. 

The  American  army — quartered  for  the  winter  near  West  Point 
on  the  Hudson,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Morristown,  New- 
Jersey — was  with  great  difficulty  furnished  with  provisions,  and  was 
poorly  prepared  to  encounter  the  inclernencies  of  the  season,  much 
less  to  operate  against  troops  superior  in  numbers  and  discipline 
and  better  provided  with  needful  supplies  and  munitions  of  war. 


VJ      JjiJu      iuOj      Jb         X       Jj      iLc*  i/a>      Ji      i/\>  c 


SIEGE    OF   CHARLESTON;    SURRENDER    OF    THE    CITY.  —  SOUTH 
CAROLINA    OCCUPIED    BY    THE   BRITISH.— TARLETON'S  LE- 
GION:    HIS    VICTORY    AT    WAXHAWS. CORNWALLIS    IN 

COMMAND. DEFEAT   OF   THE    AMERICANS   AT   CAMDEN. — 

GUERILLA  OPERATIONS  OF  SUMPTER  AND  MARION. — 

INVASION     OF     NORTH     CAROLINA. — FERGUSON'S 

DEFEAT    AT    KING'S    MOUNTAIN. 


The  year  1780  was,  almost  throughout,  a  season  of  distress, 
defeat  and  disaster,  for  the  continental  armies.  The  principal 
theatre  of  action  was  at  the  south.  In  the  month  of  Febmarv 
General  Clinton,  with  a  large  force  brought  from  New  York  in 
December,  sailed  from  Savannah,  upon  an  expedition  against 
Charleston.  Blockading  the  harbour  with  his  fleet,  he  landed  his 
troops  on  the  island  of  St.  John's,  and  prepared  to  lay  siege  to 
the  city. 

General  Lincoln,  in  concert  with  Governor  Eutledge,  made  every 


J 


exertion  to 

Rutledge,  in 

upon  him  b^ 

ber  of  negro 

at  Charlestoi 

half  of  these 

of  til  e  re  in  ait 

In  the  mc 

Sullivan's  is! 

bour.     Wort 

regular  militi 

off  by  a  deta 

the  enemy ;  a 

was  no  longe: 

the  militia  w 

nental  soldiej 

to  have  posse 

Clinton  did 

positions  for  1 

state.    His  m 

irregular  wari 

was  a  legion 

officer  of  grea 

During  the 

can  forces,  at 

about  the  clos 

attack  upon  I 

gained  at  Wa 

Tarleton  had 

completely  roi 

given,  and  mo 

while  the  assai 

Clinton  reso: 

rule  in  South  ( 

malcontents,  r( 

ishments,  and 

aspect  of  quiet 

the  question,  1 

anxiQusly  for  j 

Regiments  fi 


THE  AMERICAN   BEVOLUTION. 


295 


exertion  to  increase  the  garrison,  and  to  erect  defensive  works. 
Butledge,  in  pursuance  of  extensive  discretionary  powers  conferred 
upon  hun  by  the  legislature,  compelled  the  service  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  negro  slaves  for  this  purpose.  The  forces  finally  concentrated 
at  Charleston  amounted  to  about  seven  thousand,  but  more  than 
half  of  these  were  inhabitants  of  the  city,  and  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  reuiamder  were  militia  from  North  Carolina. 

In  the  month  of  April,  Clinton's  fleet  passed  ^-ort  Moultrie  on 
Sullivan's  island,  without  material  damage,  and  entered  the  har- 
bour. Works  were  constructed  for  the  prosecution  of  the  siege  by 
regular  military  approaches;  communication  from  the  north  was  cut 
off  by  a  detachment  of  British  troops;  Fort  Moultrie  was  taken  by 
the  enemy;  and  before  the  middle  of  May,  it  was  plain  that  the  city 
was  no  longer  tenable.  A  capitulation  was  proposed  and  accepted : 
the  mihtia  were  to  return  home  upon  parole;  the  regular  conti- 
nental soldiers  to  become  prisoners  of  war;  and  the  British  were 
to  have  possession  of  the  city,  the  public  stores,  &c 

Clinton  did  not  fail  to  follow  up  his  advantage,  by  taking  secure 
positions  for  his  troops  at  the  more  important  posts  throughout  the 
state.  His  most  efficient  force  for  carrying  on  the  skirmishing  and 
irregular  warfare  which  attended  the  occupation  of  South  Carolina 
was  a  legion  of  cavalry,  under  command  of  Colonel  Tarleton  au 
ofBcer  of  great  energy  and  ability.  * 

During  the  siege,  this  corps  defeated  two  regiments  of  the  Ameri- 
can forces,  at  Monk's  Corner,  thirty  miles  from  Charleston  and 
about  the  close  of  the  month  following,  the  like  success  attended  arl 
attack  upon  Buford's  regiment,  from  Virginia.  The  victory  was 
gamed  at  Waxhaws,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  whither 
Tarleton  had  hastened  by  a  forced  march.  The  Americans  were 
completely  routed,  and  a  bloody  massacre  ensued.  No  quarter  was 
given,  and  more  than  three  hundred  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners 
while  the  assailants  lost  but  eighteen  men.  ' 

Clinton  resorted  to  violent  measures  for  the  maintenance  of  British 
rule  in  South  Carolina.  Administration  of  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
malcontents,  rendered  compulsory  by  confiscations  and  other  pun- 
ishments, and  a  careful  organization  of  the  tories,  gave  a  general 
aspect  of  quiet  submission  to  the  country.  Eesistance  was  out  of 
the  question,  but  the  patriotic  portion  of  the  inhabitants  looked 
anxiQusly  for  promised  aid  from  the  north. 
Regiments  from  Delaware  and  Maryland,  led  by  Baron  De  Kalb 


298 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK    OF    HISTORY. 


were  on  march  for  the  scene  of  action,  but  their  progress  was  slow 
on  account  of  difficulty  in  procuring  provisions.  In  the  month  of 
July,  they  were  reinforced  by  General  Gates,  to  whom  the  chief 
command  at  the  south  had  recently  been  intrusted.  A  Virginia 
regiment,  the  only  remaining  continental  force  in  that  quarter 
effected  a  junctio"n  with  the  army,  which  now  amounted  to  five  or 
six  thousand  men.  In  the  month  of  August,  a  most  unfortunate 
season  for  a  southern  campaign,  Gates  reached  Clermont,  near  Cam- 
den, S.  C,  where  he  encamped  on  the  14th. 

Cowiwallis  was,  at  this  period,  in  command  of  the  British  forces 
at  the  south,  Clinton  having  returned  to  New  York.  Such  troops 
as  he  could  raise  to  oppose  the  advance  of  Gates,  were  encamped 
at  Camden. 

A  simultaneous  attempt  at  a  surprise,  on  the  part  of  both  armies 
led  to  an  unexpected  night  encounter.  After  some  unimportant 
skirmishing,  the  respective  leaders  occupied  themselves  in  prepara- 
tions for  a  decisive  battle.  The  fighting  recommenced  at  day-break: 
the  British,  although  outnumbered  in  the  ratio  of  about  two  to  one 
were  completely  victorious.  The  American  militia  fled  at  the  first 
charge,  but  the  regular  forces,  under  De  Kalb,  fought  bravely,  until 
the  fall  of  their  leader.  Nearly  two  thousand  of  the  Americans  were 
killed  or  taken  prisoners,  during  the  engagement,  or  in  their  dis- 
astrous and  confused  retreat.  The  enemy  lost  but  a  little  over  three 
hundred  men. 

A  few  days  subsequent  to  this  battle,  a  body  of  patriots,  raised 
and  commanded  by  Colonel  Sumpter,  which  had  done  much  damage 
to  the  British  outposts,  by  an  irregular  warfare,  was  attacked  by 
Tarleton  and  his  legion,  some  distance  farther  up  the  Catawba. 
Sumpter's  forces  were  surprised  and  utterly  routed;  a  number  of 
British  prisoners  were  set  at  liberty,  and  four  or  five  hundred  of  the 
Americans  were  killed,  or  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

No  course  was  now  left  to  the  patriots  but  submission,  or  the  life 
of  outlaws.  A  number  of  prisoners,  convicted  of  treason  in  havini' 
borne  arms  against  the  king,  after  professing  allegiance,  or  accepting 
British  protection,  were  executed,  by  order  of  the  British  com- 
mander. Those  who,  not  being  implicated  in  the  open  hostilities, 
had  favoured  the  patriotic  cause,  were  punished  by  seizure  of  their 
property  for  the  use  of  the  army.  The  few  who  still  maintained  a 
hostile  attitude,  were  obliged  to  resort,  for  safety,  to  forests  and 
marshes  inaccessible  to  any  but  those  familiar  with  the  country. 


THE   AMERICAN    BEVOLUTION. 


297 


Sumpter,  notwithstanding  hia  defeat,  had  again  collected  a  band  of 
followers,  and  established  himself  in  the  mountainous  inland  coun- 
try, whence  he  made  incursions  upon  the  enemy. 

Genera!  Marion,  who  had  held  a  continental  commission,  as  colo- 
nel, (lid  distinguished  service  in  this  species  of  warfare.  Ilis  haunts 
were  the  swamps  of  the  Lower  Pedee ;  and  such  was  the  security 
of  his  place  of  retreat,  and  the  celerity  of  his  movements,  that  his 
plans  could  never  be  anticipated.  He  would  suddenly  appear,  at 
night,  with  his  band  of  rough  and  rudely-armed  horsemen,  in  the 
midst  of  a  British  encampment,  and  before  the  alarm  was  fairly 
given,  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of  pursuit,  having  accomplished 
the  purpose  of  his  incursion— whether  it  were  the  release  of  prison- 
ers or  the  collection  of  booty. 

The  tide  of  British  successes  began  to  turn  in  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber. Cornwallis  had  made  extensive  preparations  for  an  invasion 
of  North  Carolina;  Major  Ferguson,  with  a  considerable  body  of 
troops,  effected  a  junction  v,  ith  the  tories  in  the  western  portion  of 
that  state.  A  superior  force  of  militia  and  volunteers,  including 
many  from  Virginia,  was  collected  by  the  patriots  of  that  vicinity  to 
oppose  the  invasion.  Retreating  hastily  before  their  advance,  Fep- 
guson  took  a  position  on  King's  mountain,  at  the  border  of  South 
Carolina. 

An  attack  was  made  by  the  Americans,  in  three  columns,  from 
opposite  quarters.  Notwithstanding  repeated  repulses,  they  returned 
again  and  again  to  the  charge;  and,  finally,  Ferguson  having  fallen, 
with  a  great  number  of  his  men,  the  remainder,  numbering  about 
eight  hundred,  surrendered  at  discretion.  The  victors  immediately 
gratified  a  spirit  of  retaliation  for  the  severity  of  the  English,  by  put- 
ting to  death  a  number  of  particularly  obnoxious  tories,  found  among 
the  prisoners.  Cornwallis,  who  had  already  entered  North  Carolin:^ 
retreated  southward  upon  receiving  intelligence  of  Ferguson's  de- 
feat. Large  reinforcements  from  New  York  arrived  in  Charleston 
early  in  the  winter. 


298 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  Or  HI8T0RT. 


CIIAp'T'P'P      XX 
ttfiL    wit    w        X       JU     tfJb  t/Oi*    4/uk)  • 


NOItTHEIlN  OPERATIONS. —  8^RIN0PIBI,D  BCRNED ARRIVAL 

OF   THE   FRENCH   PLBET  AND   FORCES;    BLOCKADE  AT  NEW- 
I'ORT. — TREASON    OF    ARNOLD. — TRIAL    AND    EXECUTION 

OF    MAJOR  ANDRi CAUHES   OP   ARNOLD'S   DEFECTION, 

—  INDIAN    RAVAGES;    INVASION    OP    THE    MOHAWK 
VALLEY    DY    JOHNSON    AND    BRANT. 


At  the  nortli,  little  was  effected  by  either  army  during  the  spring 
and  suimner  of  17H0.  The  British,  from  New  York,  made  two 
iii'iursions  ii\to  New  Jersey,  in  the  month  of  June.  Upon  the  first 
of  those  occaHiona  nothing  was  accomplished,  but  upon  the  second 
the  village  of  Springfield,  garrisoned  by  u  continental  force,  unJor 
Greene,  was  destroyed.  The  main  American  army  remained  in  the 
vicinity  of  its  previous  winter-quarters,  occupied  only  in  opposing 
a  check  to  the  marauding  expeditions  of  the  enemy.  Such  was  the 
destitution  at  the  camp,  that  some  of  the  troops  were  driven  to  open 
expressions  of  mutiny. 

Great  expectations  were  formed  upon  the  reported  approach  of  a 
French  fleet  and  army ;  which  arrived  in  the  month  of  July,  at  New- 
port, then  abandoned  by  the  British.  Six  thousand  troops,  under 
Count  Rochambeau,  were  brought  over,  and  preparations  were  made 
by  Washington  for  active  operations  against  New  York.  Unlurtu- 
nately,  the  British,  having  received  accessions  to  the  naval  force  on 
the  coast,  were  enabled  to  blockade  the  French  fleet  in  the  harbour 
of  Newport.  The  whole  army  of  auxiliaries,  together  with  a  body 
of  American  militia,  was,  therefore,  kept  idle,  being  necessaiily 
employed  in  defence  of  the  shipping  in  harbour. 

Between  the  lines  of  the  British  and  Continental  armies,  above 
New  York,  an  intervening  space,  occupied  by  neither,  formed  a 
convenient  resort  for  lawless  depredators,  who  took  advantage  of 
the  distracted  slate  of  affairs,  for  purposes  of  private  plunder.  To 
cut  off  the  supply  of  provisions  from  the  British  army,  cattle  were 
made  liable  to  seizure,  upon  the  road  to  New  York,  within  certain 
limits,  in  this  debatable  ground,  and  arrests  of  suspicious  charac- 
ters were  permitted  and  encouraged. 

On  the  23d  of  September,  three  New  York  militia-men,  named 


ARRIVAL 

T  NKW- 

U  T  n»  N 

noN. 

WK 

he  spring 
nadc  two 

the  first 

ie  second, 
'ce,  >i!<dor 
led  in  the 
opposing 
h  was  the 
n  to  open 

oach  of  a 
',  at  New- 
ips,  under 
^ere  made 
Unlurtu- 
1  force  on 
e  harbour 
th  a  body 
ecessarily 

ies,  above 
formed  a 
antage  of 
ider.  To 
attle  were 
in  certain 
IS  charac- 


n,  named 


Paulding,  Wil 
Tarrytown,  frc 
horseman,  wh( 
himself  as  a  B 
made  large  off 
were  refused; 
concealed  in  I 
American  Cole 
tain  plans  of  t 
the  garrison,  a 

Notice  was  : 
at-that  post,  ar 
ford  to  head-qi 
gence,  instantly 
on  board  the 
little  below  the 

A  scheme  o 
was  soon  expos 
who  proved  t< 
army,  a  young 
and  beloved  fc 
peared  that  Ar 
vvith  Sir  Henry 
been  solicited  t 
render  to  the  ei 

To  treat  with 
Hudson  in  the 
unforeseen  difB 
compelled  to  pj 
Attempting  to 
and  bearing  a 
before  related. 

Upon  a  trial 
suffered  death,  i 
tial  law,  notwitl 
release,  and  the 
high  character  .1 

Arnold's  disn 
pecuniary  embs 
extravagance. 


THE  AMEEIOAN   EEVOLUTION. 


299 


Paulding,  Williams,  and  Van  Wert,  were  watching  the  road  near 
Tarrytown,  from  a  place  of  concealment.  They  stopped  a  solitary 
horseman,  who,  supposing  them  to  be  of  his  own  party,  announced 
himself  as  a  British  officer.  Discovering  them  to  be  Americans,  he 
made  large  offers  of  reward  if  he  might  be  allowed  to  pasa  These 
were  refused;  and,  upon  searching  his  person,  papers  were  found 
concealed  in  his  boots.  He  was  carried  by  his  captors  before  the 
American  Colonel  Jamison.  The  papers  secured  were  found  to  con- 
tain plans  of  the  fortifications  at  West  Point,  with  the  numbers  of 
the  garrison,  and  descriptions  of  the  defences. 

Notice  was  immediately  dispatched  to  Arnold,  who  commanded 
at-that  post,  and  also  to  Washington,  then  on  his  return  from  Hart- 
ford to  head-quarters.  The  former,  upon  the  receipt  of  the  intelli- 
gence, instantly  hastened  to  the  river,  and,  taking  his  barge,  went 
on  board  the  British  sloop-of-war  Vulture,  which  lay  at  anchor  a 
little  below  the  forts. 

A  scheme  of  treachery  was  now  apparent,  and  the  whole  plan 
was  soon  exposed  by  the  confessions  of  the  captive  at  Tarrytown 
who  proved  to  be  Major  Andr6,  adjutant-general  of  the  British 
army  a  young  man  universally  admired  for  talents  and  courage 
and  beloved  for  his  amiable  and  gentlemanly  disposition.  It  ap- 
peared that  Arnold  had,  for  some  time  past,  been  in  communication 
with  bir  Henry  Clinton,  and  that  the  command  at  West  Point  had 
been  solicited  and  obtained  by  him,  with  the  sole  object  of  its  sur- 
render to  the  enemy. 

To  treat  with  him  for  this  purpose,  Andr6  had  proceeded  up  the 
Hudson  in  the  Vulture,  and  a  meeting  was  effected.  From  some 
unforeseen  difficulty,  he  was  unable  to  return  on  board  and  was 
compelled  to  pass  the  night  at  a  house  within  the  American  lines 
Attempting  to  make  his  way  to  New  York  by  land,  in  disguise 
and  bearing  a  pass  from  Arnold,  he  was  arrested  in  the  manner 
before  related. 

Upon  a  trial  by  court-martial,  he  was  condemned  as  a  spy  and 
suffered  death,  in  accordance  with  the  severe  requirements  of  mar- 
tial  law,  notwithstanding  the  vehement  exertions  of  Clinton  for  his 
release  and  the  general  sympathy  in  his  behalf,  awakened  by  his 
nigh  character  and  noble  demeanour. 

Arnold's  disaffection  appears  to  have  resulted,  principally,  from 
pecuniary  embarrassments,  the  consequence  of  his  own  reckless 
extravagance.     He  thought  himself  neglected  in  some  early  military 


800 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  1II8T0KY. 


appointments,  and,  subsequently,  the  partial  disallowance  of  an  un- 
reasonable claim  upon  congress,  made  by  him  m  relation  to  the 
expenses  of  the  Canadian  expedition,  mortified  and  enraged  him. 
He  had  also  been  tried  by  court-martial  for  alleged  peculation  in 
his  management  of  public  funds,  while  in  command  at  Philadelphia, 
and  had  received  a  reprimand  from  the  commander-in-chief. 

No  officer  in  the  American  army  exhibited  more  remarkable 
abilities  as  a  commander  than  Arnold,  and  in  personal  prowess  and 
courage,  he  was,  perhaps,  unequalled  by  any  of  his  associates.  His 
important  services  had  induced  his  countrymen  to  look  with  leniency 
upon  failings  which  would  have  endangered  the  popularity  of  an- 
other. In  proportion  to  the  former  complacency  of  the  community, 
was  their  indignation  at  this  exhibition  of  unprincipled  depravity- 
an  indignation  destined  to  be  immeasurably  heightened  by  the  sub- 
sequent conduct  of  its  object,  who  devoted  his  brilliant  talents  to  the 
service  of  the  enemy,  in  active  warfare  against  his  countrymei:. 

The  autumn  passed  away  with  no  farther  warlike  incidents  of 
much  public  importance.  A  savage  guerilla  contest  desolated  por- 
tions of  the  Carolinas;  and  at  the  north-west,  the  exasperated  Iro- 
quois still  continued  to  send  out  war-parties  for  the  plunder  and 
destruction  of  the  frontier  settlements.  In  October,  the  valley  of 
the  Mohawk  was  desolated  by  a  mixed  party  of  whites,  under  John- 
son, and  Indians  led  by  Brant  and  the  Seneca  half-breed,  Corn- 
Planter.  A  letter,  written  by  Brant  on  this  occasion,  speaks  with 
indignation  at  cruelties  practised  by  his  associates,  particularly  the 
Butfers,  whose  names  are  connected  with  every  atrocity  in  the  con- 
duct of  this  predatory  warfare. 


THE  AMEBICAN   BEVOLUTION. 


801 


REVOLT    OP    THE    PENNSYLVANIA  TROOPS,  —  ARNOLD'S  EXPE- 
DITION   INTO    VIRGINIA.  —  GREENE    IN    COMMAND    OF    THE 
SOUTHERN  ARMY. — MORGAN'S  DETACHMENT:   BATTLE   OF 
COWPENS;  PURSUIT  OF  MORGAN  BY  CORNWALLIS:  PASSAGE 
OF  THE  CATAWBA:  RETREAT  INTO  VIRGINIA:  BATTLE  OF 
GUILFORD   COURT-HOUSE. — GREENE'S  MARCH  INTO 
SOUTH   CAROLINA. — CORNWALLIS  IN  VIRGINIA. 
—  BATTLE    AT    HOBKIRK'S    HILL. — ^SEIZURE 
OF   BRITISH   FORTS  BY  MARION   AND    LEE. 


The  year  1781  opened  unproinisingly  for  the  Americans.  A 
dangerous  disaffection  in  the  camp  at  Morristown  broke  out  at  this 
period  in  open  revolt.  The  causes  of  complaint,  were  unpaid  arrear- 
ages, and  a  dispute  respecting  the  terms  of  enlistment.  The  regi- 
ments from  Pennsylvania  claimed  their  discharge  at  the  end  of  a 
three  years'  term,  although,  according  to  the  representation  of  their 
officers,  the  whole  period  of  the  war  was  included  in  their  engage- 
ment to  serve. 

Thirteen  hundred  men,  defying  the  authority  of  their  command- 
ers, one  of  whom  was  killed  in  the  attempt  to  reduce  them  to  obe- 
dience, marched  off,  under  arms,  in  the  direction  of  Philadelphia, 
with  the  expressed  jiurpose  of  compelling  compliance  witli  their 
demands.  General  Wayne  in  vain  attempted  to  recall  them  to  a 
sense  of  duty,  and  was  forced  to  content  himself  with  procuring 
such  supplies  for  their  use  on  the  march  as  should  preclude  the 
necessity  for  plundering  the  inhabitants.  At  Princeton,  commis- 
sioners from  congress,  and  from  the  state  authorities,  held  a  confer- 
ence with  the  malcontents,  and,  after  some  discussion,  the  main 
points  in  dispute  were  yielded  by  the  former.  Several  messengers, 
sent  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  persuade  the  mutineers,  by  handsome 
olFors,  to  enlist  in  the  king's  army,  were  seized  and  hanged  as  spies. 
A  similar  outbreak  among  the  New  Jersey  troops,  was  quelled  by 
force— two  of  the  ringleaders  being  shot.  These  movements  had 
tlie  effect  to  rouse  congress  and  the  states  to  a  sense  of  the  necepsiti(>s 
of  the  army,  and  a  large  sum  of  money  was  promptly  raised,  in 
specie,  for  part  payment  of  arrearage^. 


802 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  IIISTOKY. 


Early  in  January,  Arnold,  who  had  received,  as  the  reward  of  his 
intended  treachery,  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  pounds,  and  a  commis- 
sion as  a  brigadier-general  in  the  British  army,  commenced  active 
o})erations  in  Virginia.  He  passed  up  James  river,  with  a  consider- 
able force,  and  after  plundering  Richmond,  and  doing  much  damage 
by  tlie  destruction  of  buildings,  together  with  valuable  public  stores, 
he  entered  upon  the  occupation  of  Portsmouth. 

A  great  effort  was  made  to  outnumber  and  overpower  this  detach- 
ment. La  Fayette,  with  a  body  of  troops  from  New  England  and 
New  Jersey,  was  dispatched  against  it;  and  the  French  fleet,  then 
free  to  put  to  sea,  made  sail  for  the  Chesapeake,  for  the  purpose  of 
cutting  off  retreat.  This  movement  was  anticipated  by  the  British 
squadron,  which  took  possession  of  the  bay,  after  an  engagement 
with,  and  discomfiture  of  the  enemy. 

The  command  of  the  continental  army  at  the  south,  previous  to 
this  period,  had  been  conferred  upon  General  Greene,  in  place  of 
Gates,  recalled.  The  small  force  under  his  command,  consisted  of 
but  two  thousand  men,  notwithstanding  endeavours  made,  during 
the  early  part  of  the  winter,  to  procure  recruits  from  Virginia  and 
elsewhere.  Against  a  detachment  of  about  one  thousand  of  these 
troops,  under  General  Morgan,  while  on  their  march  into  western 
South  Carolina,  Cornwallis  dispatched  Tarleton,  with  a  force  about 
equal  in  numbers.  His  own  plan  was  to  intercept  communication 
between  the  divisions  of  the  American  army,  by  marching  north- 
ward from  his  camp  at  Winnsborough. 

Hotly  pursued  by  Tarleton,  whose  movements  were  always  rapid 
and  prompt,  Morgan  made  a  stand  at  the  Cowpens,  in  the  present 
county  of  Spartanburgh,  near  the  North  Carolina  border.  Deceived 
by  a  pretended  or  apparent  retreat  of  the  advanced  lines,  the  British 
rushed  to  the  attack  without  due  precaution  for  the  preservation  of 
order,  and  when  they  found  themselves  coolly  withstood  by  the 
continentals,  who  poured  in  a  heavy  and  destructive  fire  at  close- 
quarters,  their  line  was  broken,  and  a  complete  rout  ensued.  More 
than  half  of  the  entire  force  were  taken  prisoners  or  killed.  The 
battle  was  fought  on  the  17th  of  January,  1781. 

Marching  with  great  celerity,  Morgan  gained  the  fords  of  Catawba 
on  the  '29th,  his  object  being  to  take  his  prisoners  to  a  place  of  secu- 
rity in  Virginia.  Immediately  after  the  battle  at  Cowpens,  Tarleton, 
with  the  remainder  of  his  detachment,  effected  a  junction  with  Corn- 
wallis.     Strengthened   by  reinforcements  from   Charleston,  under 


L 


||t|iil'y*. 


t,  previous  to 
ne,  in  place  of 
d,  consisted  of 
1  made,  during 
1  Virginia  and 
usand  of  these 
ti  into  western 
a  force  about 
communication 
arching  north- 


)rds  of  Catawba 
a  place  of  secu- 
■pens,  Tarleton, 
tion  with  Corn- 
arleston,  under 


Leslie,  the  whol' 

take  the  victori( 

the  Catawba  bu 

upon  the  bank. 

Night  coming 

army,  and  secui 

with  a  few  atten 

command.     As  i 

of  February,)  th 

the  Yadkin,  witl 

of  good  fortune, 

pursuit  for  a  tin 

divisions  of  the  j 

The  endeavou: 

Virginia,  at  the 

ceeded  in  mainti 

in  safety,  leaving 

and  rapid  march 

severely  from  o\ 

suitable  to  the  se 

Cornwallis  tool 

measures  similar 

and  encouraging 

of  the  patriots. 

opportunity  offere 

army  from  the  V 

first  contented  hi 

A  party  of  these,  : 

detachment  of  ca'' 

it  to  be  Tarleton' 

own  character  tm 

Largely  reinfon 

iina,  Greene  finall 

15th  of  March.     I 

ratio  of  more  tha 

inexperienced  vol 

no  service  in  the 

arms,  and  dispersii 

exhibited  both  co 

their  position  at 

VoT,.  IV.— 4 


THE  AMEBICAN   REVOLUTION. 


803 


Leslie  the  whole  army  was  put  in  rapid  motion  to  intercept  or  over- 
!;i  rlt^rT??  '^'^f'^'^f^-     Morgan  had  effected  a  passage  of 

Niglit  coming  on  a  sudden  rise  of  water  delayed  the  pui^uing 
army,  and  secured  the  escape  of  the  Americans.    General  Greene 
with  a  few,  attendants,  jomed  this  division  on  the  31st,  and  assumed 
command.     As  soon  as  the  British  could  pass  the  river,  (on  thelst 

i  y'dW^'^  l\r'"''  recommenced.  The  Americlns  reached 
the  Yadkm  with  the  enemy  close  upon  their  rear,  and  there  a  piece 
of  good  fortune,  similar  to  that  experienced  at  the  Catawba,  checkel 
pursuit  for  a  time,  and  gave  opportunity  for  a  junction  of  the  two 
divisions  of  the  army  at  Guilford  court-house 

The  endeavour  of  Cornwallis  was  now  to  cut  off  their  retreat  into 
Virginia,  at  the  ford  of  Dan  river.  T*e  retreating  army  st  uc' 
ceeded  in  maintaining  Its  advanced  position,  and  Reached  Virginia 
m  safety  leaving  the  British  masters  of  the  Carolinas.  In  theW 
and  rapid  march  from  South  Carolina,  the  American  troops  suffered 
severe  y  from  over-fatigue,  and  from  the  insufficiency  of  clothin! 
suitable  to  the  severity  of  the  season.  ^^ui-fling 

Cornwallis  took  up  his  quarters  at  Hillsborough,  and  resorted  to 
measures  similar  to  those  enforced  in  South  Carolina,  for  organizing 

ot  the  pa  riota     The  latter  were  not  s.ow  in  retaliation  whenever 
opportunity  offered.     Greene,  having  received  some  addition  Jlls 

rrny  from  the  Virginia  militia,  reentered  North  Carolina.  He  Z 
first  contented  himself  with  checking  the  movements  of  the  tories 
A  party  of  these,  numbering  two  or  three  hundred,  falling  in  with  a 
detachment  of  cavalry,  under  the  American  Colonel  Lee  suDDosod 
.t  to  e  Tarleton's  legion,  and,  in  perfect  confidence,  expreEr 
own  character  and  position     They  were  all  massacrU  on  the  spo 

La^o  y  reinforced  by  volunteers  from  Virginia  and  North  Caro: 

S  f  M  ^"''^"rf ''^  ^'"^'  ""'''  ^""''^^^'^  court-house,  on  the 
15  h  of  March.  His  forces  out-numbered  those  of  the  enem;  in  the 
at.0  of  more  than  two  to  one,  but  a  large  portion  of  them  were 
nexponenced  volunteers  and  militia.  The  latter  were  of  littllor 
0  service  in  the  engagement,  many  of  them  throwing  down  their 

exhibited  both  courage  and  firmness,  but  were. finally  driven  from 
their  portion  a^the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  made  an  orderly 


304 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


retreat.  The  loss  on  both  sides  was  heavy,  but  that  of  the  victors 
was  the  greatest,  amounting  to  more  than  five  hundred.  The  Britisli 
troops  were  in  a  state  of  extreme  suffering  from  want  of  food  and 
from  the  fatigues  of  the  engagement;  advantage  could  not,  therefore, 
'be  taken  of  the  vietory. 

No  pursuit  was  ordered,  and  Cornwallis,  finding  great  difficulty 
in  procuring  supplies  for  his  army,  took  up  his  march  down  Capo 
Fear  river,  towards  Wilmington.  In  the  month  of  April,  General 
Greene  with  nearly  two  thousand  men,  marched  into  South  Carolina, 
where  the  British  army  of  occupation  was  so  far  reduced  by  tho 
detachment  for  invasion  of  North  Carolina,  that  a  fair  opportunity 
offered  for  a  recovery  of  the  state,  or,  at  least,  for  compelling  Corn- 
wallis to  move  southward  for  its  protection.  •  The  latter  general, 
instead  of  adopting  that  policy,  marched  into  Virginia,  and  united 
his  forces  with  those  befdfc  sent  into  the  country,  under  Arnold, 
and  now  commanded  by  Phillips. 

The  state  of  affairs  in  the  Carolinas,  throughout  these  campaigns, 
was  that  of  civil  war  in  its  worst  and  most  ferocious  aspect.  Such 
disregard  for  human  life  was,  perhaps,  exhibited  at  no  other  period, 
and  in  no  other  quarter,  during  the  war.  Whigs  and  tories  rivalled 
each  other  in  sanguinary  retribution  for  mutual  wrongs.  It  is  im- 
possible to  ascertain,  with  any  approach  to  certainty,  the  number  of 
those  who  perished  in  skirmishes,  at  the  hands  of  the  lawless  mobs, 
or  victims  of  private  malice,  in  this  fratricidal  contest,  but  it  must 
have  been  very  large,  and  by  some  is  computed  by  thousands. 

Greene,  entering  South  Carolina,  posted  himself  upon  Hobkirk's 
hill,  in  the  vicinity 'of  Camden,  then  occupied  by  an  inferior  force 
of  the  enemy,  under  Lord  Rawdon.  His  cavalry  was  on  marcli,  by 
a  detour,  to  join  the  partisan  forces  of  Marion,  and  intercept  com- 
munication with  Charleston,  He  was  attacked  at  his  position  on 
the  25th  of  April.  The  Americans  fought  bravely,  but  were  unable 
to  resist  the  charge  of  the  British  bayonet.  Obliged  to  retreat, 
Greene  fell  back  to  Rugely's  mills,  several  miles  distant. 

The  mounted  forces,  under  Marion  and  Lee,  succeeded  in  occupy- 
ing the  passes  on  the  north  of  the  Santee,  and  in  seizing  upon  several 
defensive  posts.  Sumpter  and  his  followers  were  no  less  successful 
in  attacks  upon  detached  garrisons,  stationed  to  maintain  lines  of 
communication.  Forts  Watson  and  Motte,  with  Orangeburgli, 
Georgetown,  and  Augusta,  were  soon  in  the  hands  of  the  Ameri- 
cans.    The  British  fort,  "Ninety-Six,"  held  out  against  every  effort 


THE  AMERICAN   BEVOLUTION. 


805 


to  take  it  by  siege  or  storm.  The  heat  of  the  season  suspended 
further  active  operations.  The  great  effort  of  the  campaign  had 
been  so  far  accomplished,  that  the  British  had  been  obliged  to  con- 
centrate their  forces,  and  abandon  further  attempts  at  extended 
occupation. 


CHAPTEB IXIL 

WAR   BETWEEN  ENGLAND   AND   HOLLAND.— SEIZURE  AND   PLUN- 
DER OP  ST.   EUSTATIUS. — THE   ARMED   NEUTRALITY. — RECOV- 
ERY OP   WEST   PLORIDA   BY   SPAIN.  —  CONTINENTAL   CUR- 
RENCY.—  PLAN   POR  THE   RECOVERY  OP   NEW   YORK. 

VILOINIA  RAVAGED  BY  PHILLIPS  AND  CORNWALLIS. 
— ENCAMPMENTS   AT  YORKTOWN   AND  GLOUCESTER 
POINT.  —  WASHINGTON'S    MARCH  SOUTHWARD. 
—  ATTACK    ON    NEW    LONDON    AND    GROTON. 
— CAMPAIGN   IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  —  BAT- 
TLE   NEAR    EUTAW    SPRINGS. 

Beyond  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  during  the  winter  and 
spring,  important  events  had  transpired,  at  which,  although  con- 
nected with  the  difficulties  between  England  and  her  colonies,  we 
can  barely  glance.  During  the  autumn  of  1780,  the  British  govern- 
ment obtained  information  of  a'  correspondence  between  the  United 
States  and  Holland"  relative  to  a  commercial  treaty.  An  arrogant 
demand  upon  the  latter  for  explanation  or  atonement,  not  receiving 
the  attention  required,  was  soon  followed  by  a  declaration  of  war. 
The  opportunity  presented  for  the  acquisition  of  an  enormous  booty, 
was  too  tempting  to  be  resisted,  and,  doubtless,  occasioned  this  pre- 
cipitancy of  action.  The  Dutch  possessions  in  the  West  Indies  were 
seized  by  a  fleet,  under  Rodney,  in  the  month  of  February,  1781.  At 
the  island  of  St.  P:u.statius,  an  immense  number  of  .ships  and  an  accu- 
mulation of  merchandise,  valued  at  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  were 
taken  as  lawful  prize.  This  island  had  been  one  of  the  principal 
places  of  deposit  for  goods  intended  to  be  shipped  to  the  United  States. 

England  was  thus  involved  in  war  with  France  and  Holland. 
Her  claim  of  the  right  to  interfere  with  the  commerce  of  neutral 
nations,  had  also  caused  the  formation  of  a  coalition  by  the  principal 


808 


THE   PEOI'LE'B   BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


northern  powers  of  Europe,  known  as  tbe  "Armed  Neutrality,"  for 
the  purpose  of  mutual  protection  in  their  commercial  rights  against 
the  injurious  assumptions  of  Great  Britain. 

Spain,  besiilea  uniting  her  powerful  fleet  to  that  of  France, 
for  operation  against  the  common  enemy,  took  the  ocoasion  to 
recover  the  settlements  of  West  Florida  from  the  British.  This  was 
effected  in  the  spring  of  1781,  by  a  force  from  Louisiana,  under 
Galvez,  the  Spanish  governor,  with  the  cooperation  of  a  fleet  from 
Havana, 

An  important  change,  introduced  by  congress  during  the  summer 
of  this  year,  in  the  conduct  of  financial  operations,  by  which  the 
government  r&fused  to  deal  further  with  the  depreciated  paper  cur 
rency,  rendered  this  entirely  worthless.  Much  of  the  paper  was 
taken  up  by  individual  states — by  which  it  was  to' be  redeemed 
according  to  the  provisions  accompanying  its  issue — at  an  enormoug 
depreciation,  as  an  equivalent  for  taxes,  but  an  immense  amount 
remained  upon  the  hands  of  private  holders.  Various  schemes  for 
replacing  it,  at  its  market  value,  by  a  "new  tenor"  of  bills,  bearing 
interest,  proved  failures,  as  nothing,  at  this  period,  could  sustain  the 
value  of  any  public  issue,  either  by  the  union,  or  by  states  in  their 
separate  capacity.  Nearly  all  of  the  latter  had  pursued  a  course 
similar  to  that  of  the  confederation,  in  this  respect,  and  their  paper 
had  experienced  a  steady  and  hopeless  decline  in  value. 

At  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1781,  extensive  preparations 
were  made  by  the  United  States  for  a  systematic  effort  at  the  recov- 
ery of  New  York.  For  this  purpose,  forces  were  gradually  concen- 
trated in  that  vicinity;  but  the  events  of  the  spring  and  summer 
gave  a  new  aspect  to  the  campaign,  and  changed  the  scene  of  action. 

The  British  forces,  under  Phillips,  in  Virginia,  greatly  outnum- 
bered any  which,  at  that  time,  could  be  brought  to  oppose  them. 
The  only  eff"  ctive  American  troops  in  this  quarter,  were  La  Fayette's 
continentals.  Phillips,  with  little  opposition,  sent  detachments  up 
the  James  and  Appamattox  rivers,  and  plundered  and  destroyed 
property  to  the  amount  of  millions.  Joined  by  the  forces  of  Corn- 
wallis,  in  the  month  of  May,  and  by  troops  sent  round  from  New 
York,  the  army  of  invasion  amounted  to  about  eight  thousand  men: 
that  of  the  Americans,  in  Virginia,  including  raw  recruits  and 
militia,  little  exceeded  three  thousand.  A  little  later,  the  Pennsyl- 
vania regiments,  under  Wayne,  effected  a  junction  with  La  Fayette's 
army,  increasing  it  to  about  four  thousand. 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


807 


JrT7f''  "^^  '^''*''"^^"«  "  ^"^"'*^'«  ^^"^^'ion  of  arms  and 
stores  at  the  armory  on  the  James  river  in  Fluvannn  „n^  T" 

the  state  legislature  precipitately  from  cLrlttllw.rtCleT! 
of  sess,on,  moved  with  his  whole  army  towards  the  oast  Ho  had 
received  >nstruct>ons  to  this  effect  from  Clinton,  who,  havbrob 
tamed  int:mat,on  of  the  intended  attack  upon  New  York  desired 
to  dispose  the  Virginia  division  where  it  could  be  made  availab  n 
case  of  necessity.  »va,udoie  in 

Gb«ceste"r  pZT.  ^^f '°°  ^2  ^^^^^-glj  taken  at  Yorktown  and 
U  oucester  Point,  on  either  side  of  York  river,  at  its  dcbouchement 
into  Chesapeake  bay.  Every  effort  was  made  to  strengthen  and 
fortify  these  posts:  a  considerable  naval  force  was  also  af  hand  in 
the  river  and  bay,  to  cooperate  in  any  future  movement. 

The  northern  army,  under  Washington,  was  joined  by  the  French 
forces,  so  long  stationed  at  Newport,  in  the  month  of  /uly  While 
preparations  were  actively  going  on  to  prosecute  the  siege  of  N  l 
Yor^uiformation  was  received  that  a  powerful  French  flee   from 

xpelTintrbr^^'f  ^'  ^^  ^'^""^  ''  ^^-^'  -«  — 'taHl^ 
expected  in  the  Chesapeake.     Determined  to  seize  so  favourable  an 

opportunity  for  the  annihilation  of  the  army  of  Corn  wall  is  Wash 

ing  on  abandoned,  for  the  time,  his  designs  against  New  York^rnd 

as  ened  to  pu  the  main  army  en  route  for  the  south.  Ue  w  s  care 
ful  to  conceal  this  change  of  operations  from  the  enemy,  and  so  su  - 
cessfully  was  the  movement  planned  and  conducted,"^  hat  Clinton 

ad  no  ttimation  of  the  new  turn  of  affairs  until  the  krmy  wa  stfe 
from  interception  or  pursuit.  « 

Advantage  was  now  taken  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  continental 
and  t  ench  armies  for  an  expedition  into  Connecticut.  The  traito 
Arnold,  to  whom  the  command  was  intrusted,  shaped  his  course  for 
New  London.  On  the  morning  of  September'  6th,'a  fleet  of  wen  J- 
four  sail  was  seen  off  the  harbour.  About  sixteen  hundred  troops 
were  anded,  in  two  divisions,  one  led  by  Arnold  in  person,  onTe 
New  London  side,  the  other  by  Colonel  Eyre,  at  Groton. 

bv  onlC  :,°"  '^  ^"'^^^^  ""'  '^'  latter  place,  was  garrisoned 
tL  .  w't  u"^  ^'xty.  volunteers,  commanded  by  Colonel 
^  yard.  With  the  expectation  of  receiving  an  immediate  rein' 
forcement  of  mihtia,  ,t  was  determined  to  defend  the  post  This 
expectation  proved  vain;  the  fort  was  carried  by  storm'  and  most 
of  the  garrison  in  accordance  with  the  cruel  usage  of  war  were 
cut  to  pieces  for   defending  an  untenable  position.     An  ';«  wT 


J 


308 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


ness*  thus  flescribes  the  cataatropho;  "Colonel  Ledyard,  seeing  the 
enemy  within  the  fort,  gave  orders  to  cease  firing,  and  to  tlirow 
down  our  arms,  as  the  fort  had  surrendered.  We  did  so,  but  they 
continued  firing  in  platoons  upon  those  who  wore  retreating  to  tlio 
magazine  and  barrack-rooms  for  safety.  At  this  moment,  the  renc- 
gado  colonel  commanding,  cried  out,  'Who  commands  this  garri- 
son?' Colonel  Ledyard,  who  was  standing  near  me,  answered,  'I  did, 
sir,  but  you  do  now,'  at  the  same  time  stepping  forward,  handing 
him  his  sword,  with  point  towards  himself."  The  narrator  wa.s,  at 
this  moment,  wounded  by  a  bayonet  thrust;  he  continues:  "The  first 
person  I  saw  afterwards,  was  my  brave  commander,  a  corpse  by  my 
side,  having  been  run  through  the  body  with  his  own  sword  by  tlie 
savage  renegado.  Never  was  a  scene  of  more  brutal,  wanton  carnage 
than  now  took  place.  The  enemy  Wjfre  still  firing  on  us  by  platoons, 
and  in  the  barrack-rooms.  *  *  All  this  time  the  bayonet  was 
freely  used,  even  on  those  who  were  helplessly  wounded,  and  in  the 
agonies  of  death."  Those  of  the  wounded  who  escaped  the  general 
massacre,  were  treated  with  great  brutality  and  neglect. 

Arnold's  division  met  with  similar  success  in  the  attack  upon  New 
London.  The  town  was  plundered,  and,  at  the  same  time,  set  on 
fire,  and  reduced  to  ashes.  Nothing  further  was  attempted:  the 
country  adjacent  presented  little  temptation  to  the  marauders,  and 
they  immediately  reerabarked,  and  set  sail  for  New  York  with  their 
booty  and  a  number  of  prisoners. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  at  the  north,  Geneml  Greene 
had  been  actively  engaged  in  preparing  for  the  renewal  of  hostilities 
in  Carolina.  Towards  the  close  of  August,  having  procured  rein- 
forcements of  militia,  and  a  supply  of  horses  for  his  cavalry  corps, 
he  lefl  his  quarters  among  the  hills  of  the  Santee,  and  marched  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy,  then  under  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Stewart.  An  indecisive  and  bloody  battle  was  fought,  on  the  8th 
of  September,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Eutaw  Springs.  The  Amer- 
ican forces  rather  exceeded  those  of  the  enemy  in  point  of  numbers, 
amounting  to  more  than  two  thousand  men. 

After  this  engagement,  Greene  drew  off  his  forces  to  his  former 
place  of  encampment,  at  the  Santee  hills;  the  British  moved  towards 
Charleston.  The  latter,  although  so  frequently  victorious  through- 
out these  southern  campaigns,  and  although  favoured  by  a  large 
party  among  the  inhabitants,  had  failed  to  gain  any  important 

*  Stephen  Hempstead. 


TUB  AMKKIOAN   HEVOLUTION. 


809 


advantage  by  their  conquests.  It  was  comparatively  easy  to  over- 
run the  country,  and  to  inflict  incalculable  injury  upon  the  property 
of  the  scattered  population;  but  they  always  left  enemies  in  their 
rear  and  the  obstinacy  of  the  Anglo  Saxon  disposition,  duly  inher- 

f ' .  '^M  tr;?"''  '"^  '""'"«  ""*•""«  °^^^  ^^'•'^  t,y  translation 
to  he  New  Workl,  contmually  strengthened  the  antagonistic  spirit 
of  the  people.  The  operations  of  Stewart  were  thenceforth  confined 
to  the  vicinity  of  Charleston. 


CHAPTEB  IIHI. 

FRENCH  PLEET  IN  T  IF  E  CHESAPEAKE—SIEGE  OF  YORKTOWN 

—  SURRENDKR    OF    CO  RN  W  A  I  L  IS  —  W  I  N  T  E  Jl- (iU  A  RT  E  RS  — 

PROCEEDINGS    IN    THE    EN  0  LI8H   PA  RLI  AMEN  T  — N  EOO- 

TIATIONS    FOR    PEACE,— TERMS  OF  TRE AT Y.— CESS A- 

TION     OF     HOSTILITIES.  — DISAFFECTION     IN     THE 

CONTINENTAL   ARM Y.— EVACUATION  OF   NEW   YORK. 

— POSITION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

AnouT  the  1st  of  September,  1781,  after  a  long  series  of  manoeu- 
vres, in  which  he  wisely  avoided  any  general  engagement  with  the 
British  fleet,  the  Count  de  Grasse  brought  twenty-four  ships  of  the 
line  safely  into  the  Chesapeake,  thus  securing  complete  possession 
of  the  bay,  and  precluding  all  possibility  of  Cornwallis'  effecting  a 
retreat  by  sea.  The  fleet  was  soon  after  joined  by  the  French 
squadron  from  Newport,  commanded  by  Du  Barras. 

The  American  army,  concentrated  for  the  purpose  of  laying  siege 
to  Yorktown,  including  continentals,  militia,  the  French  previously 
stationed  at  Newport,  and  those  newly  landed  by  De  Grasse, 
amounted  to  sixteen  thousand  men.  That  of  Cornwallis  did  not 
exceed  eight  thousand.  After  detaching  a  force  to  hold  in  check 
the  British  at  Gloucester  Point,  Washington  entered  vigorously 
upon  the  systematic  prosecution  of  the  siege.  The  first  works  were 
thrown  up  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of  October:  three  days  after- 
wards, they  were  so  far  completed  that  heavy  artillery  was  planted, 
and  brought  to  bear,  at  a  distance  of  but  six  hundred  yards  from  the 
British  line.  ^  A  second  parallel  was  commenced  on  the  night  of  the 
11th,  at  an  intermediate  diatanco  between  the  first  and  the  enemy's 


810 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


position.  The  work  could  not  be  safely  carried  on,  in  consequence 
of  a  heavy  fire  from  two  advanced  redoubts,  which  were,  therefore 
stormed,  and  connected  with  the  second  line  of  fortifications.  This 
service  was  accomplished  by  two  distinct  detachments,  one  Ameri- 
can, the  other  French — the  efforts  of  either  were  thus  stimulated  by 
an  ardent  spirit  of  emulation. 

The  Americans,  being  well  supplied  with  battering  artillery,  now 
opened  so  heavy  a  fire  upon  the  British  fortifications  as  to  disable 
many  of  the  guns,  and  effect  breaches  in  the  works.  Yorktown  was 
no  longer  tenable,  and  Cornwallis,  on  the  evening  of  October  ICth 
endeavoured  to  escape  by  crossing  to  Gloucester  Point.  Failiiio-  in 
the  attempt  to  transport  his  troops  over  the  river,  in  cotisequence 
of  a  severe  storm,  he  had  no  resource  but  a  capitulation.  Proposals 
to  this  effect  were  made  on  the  day  following,  and  the  terms  were 
speedily  arranged.  The  whole  British  army,  more  than  seven 
thousand  men,  became  prisoners  of  war;  the  naval  force  surrendered 
to  the  French  admiral. 

This  victory  was  the  crowning  event  of  the  war.  Although  hos- 
tilities still  lingered  throughout  the  succeeding  year,  prior  to  the 
conclusion  of  negotiations  for  peace,  they  involved  no  extensive 
military  operations.  A  partisan  warfare  still  desolated  some  of  the 
southern  and  western  districts,  and  the  frontier  was,  from  time  to 
time,  harassed  by  incursions  of  the  savages.  The  main  French  and 
continental  armies  went  into  winter-quarters  in  November.  Greene 
with  the  remains  of  the  southern  army,  took  a  station  in  the  nei"h- 
bourhood  of  Charleston,  to  restrain  foraging  expeditions  of  the  enemy. 

The  tone  adopted  by  the  British  ministry  at  the  winter  session  of 
parliament,  1781-2,  gave  no  token  of  any  probable  concessions  to 
the  American  demands.  In  the  house  of  commons,  after  repeated 
failures,  a  motion  passed,  at  the  close  of  February,  calling  for  the 
adoption  of  measures  which  should  put  an  end  to  hostilities.  A 
change  in  the  cabinet,  at  this  juncture,  favoured  the  projects  of  the 
friends  of  peace.  Negotiations  were  speedily  opened  with  Adams, 
the  American  minister  at  Holland,  and  with  Franklin,  then  in  France, 
for  a  pacific  arrangement.  With  these  ministers  were  associated 
John  Jay  of  New  York,  and  Henry  Laurens  of  South  Carolina. 
Mr.  Eichard  Oswald  conducted  the  preliminary  arrangements  in 
behalf  of  Great  Britain:  Franklin  and  Jay,  in  the  absence  of  the 
other  commissioners,  opened  the  negotiation  at  Paris  in  the  month 
of  April,  1782. 


THE   AMERICAN   KEVOLUTION. 


311 


Jealousy  of  secret  influence  unfavourable  to  the  interests  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  part  of  the  French  minister,  induced  the 
American  commissioners  to  depart  from  their  instructions  requiring 
that  he  should  take  part  in  their  negotiations,  and  a  provisional 
treaty  was  signed,  without  his  intervention,  at  the  close  of  the  fol- 
lowmg  autumn.     This  great  delay  resulted  from  the  difficulty  of 
settling  questioi,    of  boundary,  of  the  privileges  of  fishery  on  the 
northern  coast,  and  of  the  rights  of  tory  refugees,     m  lavour  of  the 
latter,  the  American  commissioners  would  agree  to  nothin-  farther 
than  a  proposed  recommendation  from  congress  to  the  states  that 
confiscations  should  cease,  that  restitution  should  be  made  for  former 
seizures    and  certain  personal  privileges,  as  to  right  of  residence 
should  be  conceded.     The  former  customs  relative  to  the  Newfound- 
land fisheries  were  substantially  confirmed;  and,  respecting  bound- 
ary, the  states  retained  their  former  territory,  extending  westward 
to  the  Mississippi,  and  southward  to  latitude  thirty-one-leaving 
Spam  in  possession  of  the  wilderness  at  the  west,  and  of  the  mouth 
of  the  great  river.    England  retained  the  Canadas:  toward  the  north- 
ivest  the  extent  of  the  American  claims  remained  still  unascertained 
The  treaty  was  not  made  definitive  until  September  of  the  follow- 
ing year.  Its  conclusion  being  contingent  upon  an  establishment  of 
peace  between  France  and  England,  by  virtue  of  the  former  treaty 
of  alliance  between  France  and  the  United  States.     At  the  first 
opening  of  pacific  negotiation  in  April,  ministers  from  all  the  belli- 
gerent nations  of  Europe  had  met  for  the  purpose  of  concluding 
arrangements  for  a  general  peace.     These  were  settled  in  the  spring 
of  1.83,  and,  upon  the  transmission  of  the  intelligence  to  America 
a  formal  proclamation  wa^  made  by  congress,  of  a  termination  of 
hostilities. 

During  the  spring  of  1782,  an  alarming  disaffection  exhibited 
Itself  among  some  portions  of  the  continental  army,  arising  from  an 
anticipated  failure  in  payment  of  their  arrearages.  This  feeling  ex- 
tended to  many  of  the  officers,  and,  but  for  the  firmness  and  wisdom 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  might  have  led  to  lamentable  results, 
ihe  army  was  disbanded,  by  order  of  congress,  in  the  month  of 
November;  and,  within  a  few  weeks,  an  evacuation  of  New  York 
and  Its  adjacent  strongholds  was  completed  by  the  British. 

On  Chri«tmas  day,  in  the  following  month.  General  Washington 
appeared  before  congress,  in  session  at  Annapolis,  and  tendered  a 
resignation  of  hi.s  commission  as  commatidcr-iu-chief. 


L_ 


312 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


The  war  was  now  at  an  end;  the  United  States,  acknowledged 
independent  by  the  nations  of  Europe,  were  free  to  adopt  a  form  of 
government  of  their  own  choosing,  untrammelled  by  the  restrictions 
of  ancient  customs  or  the  claims  of  hereditary  right.  But  the  posi- 
tion of  the  country,  if  no  longer  critical,  was  embarrassing  in  the 
extreme.  The  burden  of  an  enormous  debt,  the  poverty  consequent 
upon  the  expenditure  of  little  short  of  two  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  in  carrying  on  the  war,  the  failure  of  public  credit,  the  exist- 
ence of  sectional  jealousies,  the  great  territorial  extent  of  the  coun- 
try, the  mixture  of  races — all  combined  to  oppose  obstacles  to  the 
establishment  of  a  new  and  complicated  scheme  of  government. 


L 


THE  UJflTED  STATES 


CHAPTER   L 

POSITION    OF    THE    UNION   AT    THE  CONCLUSION   OF   PEACE  — 
EXISTING  DIFFICULTIES  JV^ITH  GREAT  BRITAIN.  — WEAKNESS 
OF  CONGRESS.  — LOCAL   DISTURBANCES;   SHAY'S  REBELLION 
—  CONVENTION  FOR  ENLARGING  CONGRESSIONAL  POWERS^ 
OPPOSING  INTERESTS  OF  THE  STATES.— THE  PRESENT  ' 
CONSTITUTION:   FEDERAL  LEGISLATURE;   POWERS  OF 
CONGRESS;   RESTRICTIONS;   LIMIT  OF  STATE  POW- 
ERS;  THE  EXECUTIVE;   THE  JUDICIARY:    MU- 
TUAL   GUARANTEES:    AMENDMENTS. 

For  several  years  immediately  following  the  establishment  of 
American  mdependence,  the  affairs  of  the  country  remained  in  con- 
fusion, from  the  incapacity  of  congress,  under  the  old  articles  of  con- 
federation,  to  bind  the  states  by  its  dealings  with  foreign  powers 
Restrictions  upon  commerce,  which  the  congress  had  no  power  to 
mitigate  by  treaty,  retarded  the  development  of  the  national  re- 
sources. The  West  India  trade,  so  lucrative  before  the  war  even  ' 
under  the  old  "sugar  act,"  was  now  cut  off  The  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  was  closed,  by  Spain,  to  all  entrance  or  egress  of  Amer- 
ican ves.sels,  leaving  the  growing  settlements  of  the  west  without 
the  means  for  disposing  of  their  produce. 

Great  Britain  could  hardly  be  expected  to  look  with  favour  upon 
the  confederation,  and  in  defiance  of  the  provisions  of  the  treaty 
she  maintained  possession  of  the  strongholds  on  the  western  lakes' 
The  reason  given  for  this  retention,  was  a  non-compliance,  on  the 
part  of  the  Union,  with  provisions  securing  to  British  subjects  the 
right  to  recover  debts  contracted  before  the  war.  Many  minor  points 
of  dispute  also  remained  unsettled.  With  respect  to  the  losses  sus- 
tained by  the  loyalists,  in  consequence  of  counscutions,  the  recom- 


814 


THE  PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF    HISTORY. 


mendation  of  congress  had  as  little  effect  upon  the  action  oi  tho 
states  in  this  as  in  most  other  particulars.  A  great  number  of  these 
claims  to  indemnity  were  subsequently  examined  and  partially  sat- 
isfied by  act  of  parliament. 

The  weakness  of  congress  was  made  repeatedly  the  subject  of 
earnest  exhortation  to  the  states  and  the  people.  Unless  its  powers 
could  be  enlarged,  and  a  willingness  be  induced,  on  the  part  of  the 
states,  to  abandon  some  portion  of  their  sovereignty  for  the  sake  of 
greater  centralization  of  power,  there  seemed  but  faint  prospects  of 
future  prosperity.  At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1786  an  effort 
was  made  to  bring  about  a  convention  from  the  states,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  a  general  commercial  system,  but  the  attempt 
fell  through  for  want  of  full  representation.  Those  members  who 
attended,  earnestly  recommended  a  meeting  of  delegates  from  all  the 
states,  to  alter  and  amend  the  articles  of  confederation,  so  as  to  define 
confirm  and  enlarge  the  jurisdiction  of  the  central  government.  This 
proposal  received  the  sanction  of  congress  in  the  month  of  February 
of  the  following  year. 

If  the  power  of  congress  was  fast  becoming  a  nullity,  since  a 
change  of  circumstances  had  diminished  the  respect  paid  to  its 
decrees  and  recommendations  during  the  dangers  of  actual  war  the 
state  authorities  experienced  nearly  equal  difficulties  in  carrying  on 
the  necessary  operations  of  government.  The  people  were  in  a  con- 
dition of  great  destitution  and  distress.  Scarce  able  to  procure  the 
necessaries  of  life,  they  were  continually  called  upon  to  provide 
funds  for  public  purposes,  and,  as  these  were  collected  by  direct 
taxation,  the  burden,  if  in  reality  no  greater  than  that  attached  to 
imposts,  was  more  severely  felt  by  the  individual.  Nothingwas  more 
natural  than  that  they  should  attribute  their  suffering  and  poverty 
to  mal-administration  of  state  affairs,  nor  that  a  popular  cry  should 
be  raised  for  impolitic  or  impracticable  schemes  of  amendment. 

In  the  autumn  of  1780,  this  feeling  broke  out  into  open  rebellion 
in  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts.  The  most  extensive  and 
dangerous  outbreak  occurred  in  the  latter  state.  One  Daniel  Shays, 
who  had  held  office  in  the  continental  army,  headed  the  movement, 
and,  before  any  effective  steps  were  taken  to  suppress  it,  collected 
an  armed  body  of  malcontents,  about  a  tliousand  in  number.  The 
immediate  object  appeared  to  be  the  obstruction  of  the  .sessions  of 
the  courts.  A  greatly  superior  force  of  militia  was  called  out,  and 
put  under  command  of  General  Lincoln.     The  rebellion  was  quelled 


THE    UNITKD    STATES. 


815 


with  very  little  bloodshed,  and  those  concerned  in  it,  in  accordance 
with  good  policy,  were  treated  with  lenity. 

The  convention,  for  the  purpose  of  remodelling  the  powers  of  con- 
gress, met  at  Philadelphia  on  the  14th  of  May,  1787.  Delegates 
were  present,  or  arrived  soon  after  the  opening  of  the  assembly,  from 
eleven  states,  Rhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire  having  alone  neg- 
lected to  make  choice  of  members.  The  number  commissioned  by 
each  state,  was  about  the  same  as  that  of  its  representatives  in 
congress.  Washington  was  chosen  president,  on  motion  of  Robert 
Morris-a  distinguished  financier,  to  whom  the  management  of  the 
monetary  affairs  of  government  had  been  principally  entrusted  for 
several  years,  during  the  period  of  greatest  difficulties,  before  and 
subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

Among  th?  meraoers  of  the  convention,  were  many  who  had 
taken  part  in  most  of  the  great  political  movements  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  contest  with  England.  Franklin,  Rutledge,  Sher- 
man, Livingston,  Gerry,  and  others  of  the  early  patriotei  were 
present;  the  existing  congress  was  largely  represented;  and  the 
general  character  of  those  assembled,  was  marked  by  zeal,  earnest- 
ness, and  ability. 

The  proceedings  were  not  made  public  for  a  period  of  more  than 
thirty  years.  It  was  wisely  concluded  that  harmony  of  feelin<x  would 
be  promoted  by  the  promulgation  of  the  results  arrived  at,  unaccom- 
panied by  discussions  in  which  the  opposing  interests  of  the  difierent 
states  were  set  forth  and  enlarged  upon.  It  was  found  easier  to  pre- 
pare an  entirely  new  constitution,  than  to  alter  and  amend  the  old 
articles  of  confederation  so  as  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  times 
Various  plans  were  framed  and  rejected,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
middle  of  September,  that  a  scheme  was  completed  which  the  con- 
vention was  willing  to  send  forth  to  the  people  for  ratification. 

The  claims  of  the  smaller  states  to  equal  representation  with  the 
larger,  the  commercial  interests  of  the  north  as  opposed  to  those  of 
agriculture  in  the  south,  the  apportionment  of  representatives  the 
modes  of  election,  the  character  of  the  two  proposed  legislative 
bodies,  the  authority  and  duties  of  the  executive,  tlie  general  limita- 
tion of  congressional  powers,  the  formation  of  a  judiciary  departinent 
and  many  minor  details,  gave  rise  to  long,  and,  frequentlv,  to  excited 
debate.  Prominent  among  the  vexed  questions  of  the  day,  were 
those  growing  out  of  a  difference  of  opinion  and  interest  with  respect 
to  the  nistitution  of  slavery.     Upon  this  topic,  while  some  northern 


816 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


members — especially  Gouverneur  Morris — inveighed  against  the  sys- 
tem with  extreme  warmth,  those  from  the  southern  states  supported 
its  interests  with  less  heat,  but  greater  determination. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  as  it  at  present  exists,  (with 
the  exception  of  a  few  amendments,  chiefly  relative  to  the  rights  of 
persons,  to  the  manner  of  choosing  president  and  vice-president,  and 
to  the  release  of  the  separate  states  from  liability  to  be  sued  in  the 
federal  courts  by  citizens  of  any  other  state  or  foreign  nation,)  was 
signed  on  the  17th  of  September,  1787,  by  thirty-eight  members  of 
the  convention,  representing  twelve  of  the  original  states.  New 
Hampshire  had  chosen  delegates  during  the  session ;  Rhode  Island 
alone  took  no  share  in  the  proceedings. 

By  the  provisions  of  this  instrument,  all  legislation  is  committed 
to  a  senate  and  house  of  representatives.  The  first  consists  of  two 
members  from  each  state — their  election  to  be  made  by  the  legisla- 
ture. They  are  chosen  for  six  years,  but  are  so  classified  that  one- 
third  of  the  whole  number  are  elected  every  second  year.  The 
second  is  composed  of  members  chosen  for  two  years,  by  the  people, 
in  proportion  to  the  population,  (originally  one  for  every  thirty 
thousand,  with  a  provision  securing  to  each  state  at  least  one  repre- 
sentative,) in  computing  which,  three-fifths  of  all  slaves  are  included, 
The  word  slave  is  avoided  by  circumlocution.  As  an  offset  to  this 
concession  to  the  slave-holding  states,  direct  taxes  are  decreed  to  be 
apportioned  in  the  same  manner. 

Bills,  in  order  to  become  laws,  must  pass  both  houses,  and  receive 
the  signature  of  the  president,  or,  in  case  of  his  refusal,  must  be 
reconsidered  and  approved  by  a  two-thirds  vote  in  each  house.  The 
house  of  representatives  has  the  privilege  of  originating  all  revenue 
bills.  Provisions  are  made,  for  an  annual  session  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  December,  for  the  conduct  of  proceedings,  trial  of  impeach- 
ments, rules  relative  to  adjournment,  discipline  of  members,  supply 
of  vacancies,  census  returns,  and  other  details;  after  which  the  gen- 
eral powers  of  the  federal  legislature  are  enumerated  substantially 
as  follows: 

Congress  is  empowered  to  levy  uniform  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and 
excises;  to  regulate  foreign  commerce,  and  commerce  between  the 
states;  to  coin  money,  and  provide  punishments  for  counterfeiting; 
to  establish  a  post-oflice  system;  to  make  regulations  respecting 
copy-rights  and  patents;  to  create  inferior  federal  courts,  and  pass 
laws  for  the  punishment  of  offences  on  the  high  setis;  to  declare  war. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


317 


and  to  raise  and  support  annies  and  a  navy;  to  provide  for  requisi- 
tions  upon  the  militia  in  case  of  public  necessity;  to  exercise  juris- 
diction over  the  district  occupied  as  the  seat  of  government;  and, 
generally,  to  provide  for  the  common  welfare  and  defence. 

Finally:  "To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper 
for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  pow- 
ers vested  by  this  constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof." 

Congress  was  restrained  from  prohibiting  the  importation  of  slaves 
prior  to  the  year  1808.  There  exist,  moreover,  general  restrictions 
forbidding  the  suspension  of  the  privilege  of  habeas  corpus,  except  in 
times  of  public  danger,  the  passage  of  ex  post  facto  laws,  the  imposi- 
tion of  export  duties,  the  requisition  of  duties,  clearances,  or  entries, 
in  commerce  between  the  states,  the  draught  of  public  funds  except 
to  meet  regular  appropriations,  and  the  grant  of  any  title  of  nobility. 
By  section  X.,  "No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or 
confederation;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money; 
emit  bills  of  credit;  make  any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a 
tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto 
law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts;  or  grant  any  title 
of  nobility."  The  power  to  levy  imposts  is  confined  to  provisions 
of  absolute  necessity  for  the  execution  of  inspection  laws.  States 
are  also  prohibited  from  maintaining  armed  vessels  or  a  standing 
army,  and  from  engaging  in  hostilities,  except  in  cases  of  invasion 
or  imminent  danger. 

The  executive  power  is  vested  in  a  president,  who,  together  with 
a  vice-president,  is  chosen  for  four  years,  by  electors  from  all  the 
states,  equal  in  number  to  the  entire  representation  in  both  houses 
of  congress.  These  electors  meet  in  their  several  states,  and  forward 
returns  of  their  ballotings  to  the  federal  seat  of  government.  The 
votes  for  president  and  vice-president  are  taken  separately.  If  no 
candidate  has  a  majority  of  all  the  electoral  votes,  in  the  case  of 
president,  the  house  of  representatives,  voting  by  states,  elects  to  that 
office  one  of  the  three  candidates  who  have  received  the  greatest 
number  of  votes.  On  failure  to  elect  a  vice-president,  the  senate 
makes  choice  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list. 

The  vice-president,  virtnte  officii,  is  president  of  the  senate,  and 
upon  the  death  or  disability  of  the  president,  he  succeeds  to  his 
duties  and  responsibilities.    In  case  of  further  lapse,  congress  has    " 
power  to  declare  upon  what  oflicer  the  presidency  shall  devolve. 


818 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


The  president  is  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  militia,  when  in  service  of  the  Union. 
He  may  grant  reprieves  or  pardons  for  offences  against  the  laws  of 
the  United  States.  With  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  senate 
he  is  empowered  to  make  treaties;  and  all  public  ministers,  judtres 
of  the  supreme  court,  and  other  officials  of  the  United  States,  whose 
appointment  is  not  otherwise  provided  for,  are  chosen  by  the  senate 
upon  his  nomination.  He  may  fill  vacancies  in  the  senate,  occurring 
during  recess,  for  one  term  only.  He  is  generally  charged  with  the 
execution  of  the  laws,  the  commission  of  officers,  and  the  reception 
of  foreign  ambassadors. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  is  vested  in  one  supreme 
court,  and  in  courts  established  by  act  of  congress.  The  judges  of 
both  hold  office  during  good  behaviour.  Their  jurisdiction  extends 
to  all  cases  in  law  or  equity  arising  under  the  constitution,  or  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  &c. ;  to  cases  affectingforeign  ministers' 
to  matters  of  admiralty;  to  cases  where  the  United  States  is  a  party 
to  controversies  between  different  states,  between  citizens  of  different 
states,  or  those  claiming  under  grants  of  different  states,  and  between 
citizens  and  foreign  states,  citizens  or  subjects.  Tlie  original  juris- 
diction of  the  supreme  court  is  confined  to  cases  affecting  foreign 
ministers,  and  cases  where  a  state  is  a  party. 

A  republican  government  is  guaranteed  to  each  state,  and  tlie 
United  States  is  pledged  to  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion 
and  domestic  violence.  Each  state  is  bound  to  give  full  faith  to 
the  public  acts  of  the  others,  and  to  accord  equal  privileges  with 
its  own  citizens  to  all  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Fugitives  from 
justice  are  to  be  delivered  up,  on  requisition  of  the  executive  of 
the  sta<e  where  the  crime  has  been  committed:  those  "held  to  ser- 
vice or  labour  in  one  state,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into 
another,"  shall  be  restored  "on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such 
service  or  labour  may  be  due." 

Amendments  to  the  constitution  are  to  be  proposed  by  two-thirds 
of  buth  houses  of  congress,  or  by  a  convention  called  on  application 
of  two-thirds  of  the  states ;  to  be  ratified  by  tlie  legislatures  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  several  states,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths 
thereof,  according  to  the  decision  of  congress.  In  conclusion— debts 
of  the  old  confederation  are  assumed;  the  United  States  constitution 
and  laws  are  declared  supreme;  and  an  oath  to  support  the  constitu- 
tion is  required  of  public  officers,  either  in  the  service  of  the  Union 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


819 


or  of  .nCvidual  states  The  original  establishment  of  the  constitution 
was  contingent  upon  Us  ratification  by  nine  states,  upon  which  evTut 
It  was  to  be  binding  "upon  the  states  so  ratifying  the  same  '' 


•      CHAPTEB   IL ■ 

RATIFICATION  OP  THE  CONSTITUTION  BY  THE  STATES  —WASH- 
INGTON ELECTED  PRE8IDENT.-THE  PIRST  CONGRESS    PRO 
VISIONS  POR  REVENUE:  PORMATION  OP  A  CABINET-  POWER 
OP    REMOVAL     PROM    OPPICE.- WASHINGTON'S    TOUR 
THROUGH     NEW     ENGL  A  ND. -SECOND    SESSION    OP 
CONGRESS:     DEBATE     RESPECTING     THE     PUBLIC 
DEBT:  FOREIGN  LIABILITIES:  PUBLIC  CERTIFI- 
CATES:   ASSUMPTION   OF  STATE    DEBTS-    THE 
PUBLIC    DEBT    FUNDED:     MISCELLANEOUS 
ENACTMENTS CONSTITUTION   RATI- 
FIED BY  RHODE  ISLAND. 

i  The  new  constitution,  upon  its  reference  by  congress  to  conven- 
Jons  of  the  separate  states,  gave  rise  to  great  discussion  and  dispute 
Two  political  parties  were  formed,  taking  issue  upon  the  subject  of 
Its  adop  ion;  those  in  favour  of  the  measure  received  the  title  of 
e  erahsts  However  great  might  be  the  disapproval  of  some  of  the 
details  of  the  new  system,  by  individual  states,  sections  or  parties 
It  was  altogether  outweighed  by  a  perception  of  its  general  import' 
ance.  This  is  sufficiently  manifest  from  the  circumstance  that  it 
received  unconditional  ratification  in  eleven  states  before  the  close 
of  the  following  summer.  North  Carolina  appended  conditions  to  an 
acceptance;  and  Ehode  Island,  as  she  had  taken  no  share  in  the 
constitutional  convention,  still  continued  recusant. 

Upon  a  meeting  of  the  presidential  electors,  George  Washington 
was  unanimously  elected  first  president  of  the  United  States  In 
accordance  with  the  original  provisions  of  the  constitution,  the  recin- 
lent  of  the  next  highest  number  of  votes,  John  Adams,  was  elected 
to  the  olhce  of  vice-president. 

Some  delay  occurring  in  the  arrival  of  a  quorum  of  members  to 
the  first  congress  (the  city  of  New  York  being  the  place  of  session) 
YoL.  lY. — i9  '■ 


820 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  HISTOUY. 


the  president  was  not  inaugurated  until  the  30th  of  April,  1789; 
the  fourth  of  the  month  preceding  had  been  appointed  for  tliis  pup. 
pose.  In  the  full  flush  of  aucceis  and  popularity,  with  all  eyes  turned 
upon  him  as  the  man  whose  firmness  and  political  integrity  titted 
him  no  less  for  civil  office  than  for  military  command,  ho  felt  great 
reluctance  at  entering  upon  this  new  sphere  of  duties. 

Immediately  upon  organization  of  congress,  the  business'of  provi- 
sion for  the  expenses  of  government,  and  for  the  payment  or  futidinc 
of  the  public  debt,  was  opened.  It  was  readily  penceived  that  the 
most  available  method  of  raising  revenue  was  by  the  imposition  of 
customs  upon  importations.  A  tonnage  duty  upon  foreign  vessels 
was  at  the  same  time  proposed  and  carried,  not  without  great  oppo- 
sition from  the  purely  agricultural  states,  who  were  jealous  of  a  pro- 
vision which  would  directly  protect  and  encourage  the  interests  of 
the  commercial  portion  of  the  Union,  at  tlie  same  time  produciii<T  as 
they  conceived,  an  injurious  ('Hect  upon  the  price  of  freiglita".  An 
attempt  to  draw  a  distinction  between  those  European  nations  who 
had  previously  entered  into  commercial  arrangements  witli  the 
United  States,  and  those  who  had  refused  so  to  do,  by  extending 
superior  privileges  to  the  commerce  of  the  former,  was  approved  in 
the  house,  but  defeated  in  the  senate. 

The  operations  of  government  were  next  systematized  by  the  reg- 
ular organization  of  distinct  departments  for  the  management  of  the 
treasury,  of  state  affairs,  foreign  and  domestic,  and  of  war;  an 
arrangement  analagous  to  the  regular  European  cabinet  system.  The 
first  incumbents  of  these  offices  were  Alexander  Hamilton,  Tliomas 
Jefferson,  and  General  Henry  Knox.  John  Jay,  Franklin's  fi)rmer 
colleague  in  diplomacy  at  the  French  court,  was  chosen  chief-justice. 
An  important  prerogative,  upon  a  point  in  respect  to  which  the  con- 
stitution was  silent,  after  much  debate,  was  .secured  to  the  president. 
This  consisted  in  the  power  to  remove  from  office,  witliout  action  of 
the  senate,  either  of  the  heads  of  department,  and  other  officials 
whose  ai)pointment  was  by  presidential  nomination. 

Upon  the  adjournment  of  congre.s.s,  towards  the  close  of  September, 
the  president  undertook  an  excursion  through  the  New  England 
state.-.  It  is  said  that  when  he  first  forsook  the  n".  i  ement  of  private 
life  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  his  "progress  from  his  seat 
of  Mount  Vernon  to  Pliihidel])hia  was  a  triumphant  procession,  such 
as  few  conquerors  have  known."  Throughout  this  noi  tliern  tour  the 
popular  expression  of  admiration  and  gratitude  was  carried  to  an 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


821 


extent  «t.ll  greater  Th.s  enthusiast!,  reception  must  have  been  the 
more  grateful  to  Washington  from  the  consciousness  that  it  was  sim- 
ply a  tribute  to  the  acknowledged  worth  of  his  character  and  the 
value  of  h.s  pubhc  services.  He  had  never  mingled  with  the  people 
upon  erms  of  familiarity:  of  a  reserved  and  dignified  demeanour, 
ho  had  never  courted  popularity  by  any  of  the  arts  of  a  demagogue 
nor  was  he  gifted  with  that  versatility  which  has  enabled  other  greai 
men  to  secure  unbounded  personal  attachment  by  accommodating 

brtTrown'  ^  '""""^  ''''^'  °^  ^'"^^'  '"*°  ""^^'^  ■"''''*^  *^'y  ""'S^'^ 
The  second  session  of  congress  was  held  in  the  month  of  January 
1790.     During  the  recess,  North  Carolina  had  ratified  the  federal 
constitution  and,  in  common  with  the  other  states,  had  ceded  to  the 
Union  her  claims  upon  a  great  extent  of  western  ter-itory 

The  secretary  of  the  treasury,  Mr.  Hamilton,  on  the  opening  of 
congress,  made  a  written  report  upon  the  state  of  the  public  debt 
Long  and  vehement  discussions  ensued,  and  the  subject  was  from 
time  to  time  postponed  and  resumed  throughout  a  period  of  six 
months.  Little  opposition  was  made  to  provisions  for  the  full  pay- 
ment of  foreign  debts,  amounting  to  about  twelve  millions  of  dollars- 
but  when  the  questions  arose  respecting  the  funding  of  the  depreci- 
ated certificates  of  debt  held  against  the  federal  government,  and  the 
assumption  of  liabilities  incurred  by  the  separate  states  in  carrying 
on  the  war,  a  vast  variety  of  opinion  was  found  to  exist. 

A  large  party  was  opposed  to  the  redemption  of  the  public  securi- 
ties at  a  rate  above  their  marketable  value,  being  what  the  holders 
had,  for  the  most  part,  paid  for  them,  and  which  was  now  less  than 
one-sixth  of  their  nominal  value.  The  principal  expenses  of  the 
war  had  been  defrayed  by  the  issue  of  paper  money  to  the  amount 
of  two  hundred  millions,  or  thereabout,  and  the  subsequent  redemp- 
tion of  the  major  portion  of  it,  at  the  rate  of  forty  for  one  It  was 
claimed  that  the  speculators  who  now  claimed  by  public  certificates 
deserved  no  better  terms  than  those  who  held  the  old  continental 
currency,  originally  forced  upon  its  holders  by  penal  enactments 

Ihe  idea  was  also  enlarged  upon  that  the  existence  of  a  great 
funded  debt  would  render  the  central  government  too  powerful  for 
tlie  interests  and  sovereignty  of  the  states,  by  making  its  support  a 
matter  of  pecuniary  interest  to  so  large  a  j^ortion  of  the  population 
J  he  party  styling  Itself  republican,  in  opposition  to  the  federalists 
strongly  maintained  this  ground  of  objection.     The  same  aroumeni 


822 


THE    l'EOPLE'8   BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


was  urged  nguinflt  tho  assumption  of  state  debts.  This  clause  of  the 
proposed  financial  arrangement  was  rejected  upon  the  first  trial  in 
the  house,  but  was  afterwards  carried,  as  we  are  led  to  believe,  by  a 
somewhat  corrupt  political  bargain.  The  votes  of  two  members 
were  changed  by  a  promised  arrangement  respecting  the  location  of 
the  future  seat  of  government,  which  was  fixed  for  ten  years  at  Phil- 
adelphia, and  thenceforth  at  some  spot  upon  the  Potomac — arrange- 
ments to  be  made  by  the  president  for  a  commission  to  decide  upon 
the  precise  spot. 

According  to  the  bill,  as  formerly  enacted,  a  loan  was  to  be  eflected 
for  tho  payment  of  the  foreign  debt  in  full ;  the  domestic  debt  was 
to  be  funded  by  the  receipt  of  subscriptions  in  certificates  at  their 
nominal  value,  and  in  old  Continental  bills  at  the  rate  of  one  hun- 
dred for  one  !  Certificates  for  arrearages  of  interest  were  to  be  re- 
newed by  others  bearing  three  per  cent,  interest;  those  for  the 
principal  being  entitled  to  six  per  cent.  The  debts  of  the  individual 
states  were  specifically  assumed,  to  the  amount  of  twenty-one  millions 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars;  for  which  a  loan  was  to  be  opened, 
receivable  in  state  certificates  for  debts  incurred  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  the  war,  or  directly  issued  for  services  during  hostilities. 

In  pursuance  of  constitutional  provisions,  congress,  at  this  session, 
paased  laws  regulating  the  naturalization  of  foreigners,  the  grant  of 
patents  and  copy-rights,  the  duties  and  privileges  of  seamen,  and  the 
manner  of  trading  and  negotiating  with  the  Indian  tribes.  Provi- 
sions were  also  made  for  establishing  regular  diplomatic  intercourse 
with  foreign  nations.  Various  crimes  against  the  United  States  were 
defined,  and  punishments  affixed  to  their  commission.  A  small 
standing  army  was  organized,  and  specific  appropriations  were  made 
to  meet  all  necessary  civil  and  military  expenses  of  the  current  year. 

In  the  month  of  May,  Rhode  Island  had  finally  ratified  the  consti- 
tution, and  representatives  from  that  state  took  their  seats  in  congress 
during  the  session. 


TUE   UNiiBD  STATES. 

CHAPTER  in.' 

INDIAN   NBOOTIATlONfl     THE  PRKKFa     ^„ 

8BSSI0N   OF   CONORB88;    THE  EXC.SB    ^^^ ^  '"'"" 

ERV     r?n  CAPITOL.-THE     NOIlTII-WFdT- 

BHN     INDIANS,     ST.     CLAIIfS     EXPEDITION. 
HIS     DISASTROUS     BBFE  AT—PQUTIC  Al 
PARTIES.— THE  CENSUS. 

Early  attempts  were  made,  under  authority  of  the  frdprnl 
ernment,  to  effect  amicable  arrangement.  withT^  !  t  ^°^' 

of  the  west  and  south  bv  which  Z^       }l^  ^''^'  ^"'^'^^  *"be« 

and  the  frontier  i'^i^htet  7^''^7T  'T'''' '''"" 
estabhshed  with  the  Creekt-  thl  ,"  J"«°^^^  ^^^l^tions  were 

VV.II.3  Towns,  ic,  laid  waste  by  aa  expedition  under  General  CuT. 

men,  under  General  Harmar,  were  dispatched  upon  an  Indian  earn 
paign  in  the  north-western  territory.  In  everv  skirmish  w^l,T' 
TIT  "^  'r'  "  *»  'dvantage'fron,  tkIl:Xi:lt 
f  the  eountry  They  avoided  any  general  engagement  but  bv 
Wngambuseades  for  detaehed  parties,  succeeded  In  cuttinroff^ 

At  the  third  session  of  congress,  in  Decembe?,  nil,  one  Tt 


324 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF   HISTOKY. 


earliest  subjects  of  debate  was  a  ijroposition  to  increase  the  revenue 
by  additional  duties  upon  spirituous  liciuors,  and  by  the  establish, 
nient  of  an  excise  upon  those  of  domestic  manufacture.  A  bill  for 
this  piirpose  finally  passed— not  without  very  violent  opi)osition. 
Another,  and  more  important  source  of  contention,  was  the  institution 
of  a  national  'bank.  This  was  strenuously  opposed,  botli  upon , 
grounds  of  public  policy,  and  the  alleged  defect  of  constitutional 
power  in  congress  for  the  organization  of  such  an  establishment. 
The  measure  was  carried,  in  spite  of  all  opposition:  a  bank  was 
chartered,  with  a  capital  often  millions  of  dollars,  one-fifth  of  which 
was  to  be  subscribed  for  by  the  United  States.  Private  stockholdera 
had  the  privilege  of  paying  three-fourths  of  their  subscriptions  in 
United  States'  stocks. 

The  only  further  proceedings  of  importance  during  the  session, 
were  the  adoption  of  resolutions  for  an  increase  of  the  army,  in 
anticipation  of  an  Indian  war,  and  the  admission  of  two  new  states 
into  the  Union.  The  settlement  of  Kentucky  had  been  commenced, 
not  long  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolutionary  war,  by  the 
bold  and  enterprising  pioneer,  Daniel  Boone,  who,  with  a  few  asso- 
ciates, allured  by  the  fertility  and  beauty  of  the  country,  had  ven- 
tured  to  brave  the  dangers  of  an  isolated  position  in  the  remote 
wilderness.  Indian  traders,  in  early  times,  reported  of  this  country, 
that  "No  Indians  dwelt  there,  but  the  various  tribes  made  it  their 
hunting-ground,  and  in  their  encounters,  waged  such  fierce  and 
desperate  battles,  that  the  whole  region  was  known  among  them  by 
the  name  of  'The  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground.'" 

Kentucky  had  increased  so  fast  in  population,  that  it  was  judged 
expedient,  both  by  the  inhabitants  and  by  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  territory  of  which  state  it  was  included,  that  the 
former  should  be  set  off  as  a  separate  state.  A  convention,  called 
for  the  consideration  of  the  question,  had  fixed  upon  the  1st  of  June, 
1792,  as  the  period  for  the  commencement  of  the  new  organization, 
contingent  upon  the  action  of  congress.  The  assent  of  the  latter  was 
given,  prospectively. 

Between  Vermont  and  New  York,  a  contention  of  some  standing 
had  existed.  The  latter  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  former,  as 
included  within  her  own  territory ;  Vermont  resisted,  and  organized 
a  separate  government.  An  accommodation  was  effected  at  the 
time  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  and  Vermont  was  admitted  us 
ft  new  state  on  the  18th  of  February  (1791). 


I 


The  pres 
through  sor 
— in  accord 
federal  capi 
scale,  and  n 
of  lauds  an 
consequeutl 
have  fallen 
Great  comn 
new  countr_) 

During  tl 
check  the  de 
accomp]ishe( 
fields.  Exp 
savages,  and 

Upon  the 

portion  of  th 

priated  to  tl 

limits  of  the 

their  claims 

orator,  Eed-t 

ruled  by  the 

or  Corn-Plar 

with  the  wes 

ican  settlers. 

In  the  auti 

two  thousanc 

present  city  c 

lished  and  g 

miles  from  tl: 

The  movemc 

tribes  of  the  ' 

mies,  Dclawa 

ance  of  Mich 

Brant,  liad  fu 

plans  for  defe 

"Before  th 

4th),  the  savs 

more  decisive 

and  his  officei 


BED     SjI  C  K  I.  r. 


THE  UNITED   STATES. 


825 


The  president,  in  the  course  of  the  spring,  made  an  excursion 
through  some  of  the  southern  states,  and,  on  his  route,  made  selection 
— m  accordance  with  i)rovisions  before  mentioned— of  a  site  for  the 
federal  capital.  A  city  was  laid  out,  for  this  purpose,  upon  a  grand 
scale,  and  much  speculative  enterprise  was  displayed  in  the  purchase 
of  lauds  and  erection  of  buildings.  The  increase  of  the  city  and 
consequently,  of  the  value  of  property  within  its  extensive  limits^ 
Lave  fallen  far  short  of  the  sanguine  expectations  of  its  founders! 
Great  commercial  facilities  can  alone  build  up  large  cities  in  a 
new  country. 

During  the  summer  of  this  year,  several  attempts  were  made  to 
check  the  depredations  of  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio,  but  nothing  was 
accomplished  further  than  the  destruction  of  a  few  villages  and  corn- 
fields. Expeditions  on  so  small  a  scale  only  served  to  irritate  the 
savages,  and  to  render  the  condition  of  the  frontier  more  unsafe. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  Iroquois  retired  into  Canada,  where  lands  were  appro- 
priated to  their  use  on  Grand  river;  those  remaining  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States,  by  solemn  treaty,  at  Fort  Stanwix,  ced«d 
their  claims  in  eastern  New  York.  The  noted  Seneca  chief  and 
orator,  Eed-Jacket,  strenuously  opposed  this  treaty,  but  was  over- 
ruled by  the  influence  of  his  superior  in  age  and  authority,  O'Bail 
or  Corn-Planter.  The  Six  Nations  continued  in  con,munication 
with  the  western  tribes,  and  were  generally  inimical  to  the  Amer- 
ican settlers. 

In  the  autumn  of  1791,  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  with  more  than 
two  thousand  men,  marched  from  Fort  Washington,  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Cincinnati,  into  the  Indian  territory.  H&ving  estab- 
hshed  and  garrisoned  two  forts,  on  his  route,  he  encamped  fifteen 
miles  from  the  Indian  towns,  on  the  Miami,  on  the  3d  of  November. 
The  movements  of  the  army  had  been  slow,  and  ike  confederate 
tribes  of  the  west— Ilurons,  Potiiwatomies,  Ottawas,  Ciippewas,  Mia- 
mies,  Delawares,  Shawanees,  Iroquois,  and  others— uwier  the  guid- 
ance of  Michikinaqua  (Little  Turtle),  and,  as  is  supposed,  of  Joseph 
Brant,  Iiad  full  opportunity  to  collect  their  waniora  and  form  their 
plans  for  defence. 

"Beibic  the  rising  of  the  sun,  on  the  following  day  (November 
4tli),  the  savages  fell  upon  the  camp  of  the  whites.  Never  was  a 
more  decisive  victory  obtained.  Jn  vnin  did  the  American  general 
and  his  officers  exert  themselvca  (  ;  maiiitnin  <  ider,  and  to  rally  the 


I 


S26 


THE   PKOPLE'S   BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


bewildered  troops.  The  Indians,  firing  from  covert,  thinned  the 
ranks,  and  picked  off"  the  officers  by  a  continuous  and  murderous 
discharge.  A  disorderly  retreat  was  the  result:  artillery,  baggage 
and  no  small  portion  of  the  arms  of  the  militia,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  exultant  pursuers.  Fort  Jefferson  was  nearly  thirty  miles  dis- 
tant, and  thither  the  defeated  army  directed  it^s  flight.  The  Indians 
followed  close  upon  the  fugitives,  cutting  down  and  destroyinc'-  at 
will,  until,  as  is  reported,  one  of  their  chiefs  called  out  to  thein  '  to 
stop,  as  they  had  killed  enough.' 

"The  temptation  offered  by  the  plunder  to  be  obtained  at  the 
camp,  induced  the  Indians  to  return,  and  the  remnant  of  the  invading 
army  reached  Fort  Jefferson  about  sun-set.  The  loss,  ir  this  battle 
on  the  part  of  the  whites,  was  no  less  than  eight  hundred  and  ninety- 
four  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing.  Thirty-eight  officers  and  five 
hundred  and  ninety-three  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  were 
slain  or  missing.  The  Indians  lost  but  few  of  their  men— judcinw 
from  a  comparison  of  the  different  accounts,  not  mucb  over  fifty."* 

Upon  the  coming  together  of  congress,  in  October  of  1791,  the 
condition  of  Indian  affairs  was  brought  before  that  body,  and  repre- 
sentations of  the  necessity  for  an  increase  in  the  army  were  urged 
Party  spirit,  at  this  time,  was  growing  more  virulent;  the  republicans 
at  the  head  of  whom  stood  Secretary  Jefferson,  eyed  the  movements 
of  the  federalists  with  great  suspicion,  continually  discoverintr  or 
imagining  a  tendency  towards  a  monarchical  system  in  all  their 
plans  and  operations.  Of  Hamilton,  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and 
leader  of  the  federal  party,  an  English  writer  observer  ''Each  step 
indeed,  which  this  minister  took,  seemed  in  the  traces  of  British 
policy;  and,  however  salutary  or  requisite  they  may  have  been,  he 
certainly  showed  little  caution  in  the  manner  of  adopting,  success- 
ively, the  several  parts  of  machinery  belonging  to  a  monarchical 
government." 

A  strong  effort  was  made  at  this  session,  to  increase  the  number 
of  members  in  the  house  of  representatives,  by  including  in  tlie 
computation  of  population  the  fractional  remainder  which  existed  in 
each  state  after  a  division  by  thirty  thousand.  The  bill  passed  both 
houses,  but,  being  sent  bade  with  objections,  by  the  president,  was 
reconsidered  and  lost.  The  census  returns  of  the  first  enumeration 
of  the  population,  exhibited  a  total  of  3,921,326,  of  wliicb.  nearly 
seven  hundred  thousand  were  slaves. 

»  Indian  Races  of  America. 


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WA8HTN0T0N'f 

—  THE   PRENI 

IN   THE    UNI' 

[STER   OP   T 

CHARLES] 

STATES. - 

AND   EN 

SEAM! 


At  the  electio 

menciiigiiiMarcl 

of  opposition.     ] 

office,  and  only  c 

and  the  people,  : 

great  political  p 

not  shield  him  e 

republican  party 

is  said  that,  on  or 

break  of  feeling,  < 

he  had  never  rep* 

resigning  his  offic 

he  had  rather  be  i 

had  rather  be  on  ! 

yet  that  they  wen 

In  ojiposition  i 

republicans  set  u 

larger  vote.      Thi 

leading  liberals,  ai 

president  could  ca 

departments. 

At  this  period,  ; 
troversy  of  Anierii 
excited  by  the  sto 
a  matter  of  deep  in 


TH£   UNITED   STATES.  g^T 

/ 

CHAPTER    I?.    ' 

VASHINOTON'S  SECOND  TERM:   HIS  DISINCLINATION  TO  OFFICE 

-THK   FRENCH   REVOLUTION:    ITS  POLITICAL    INFLUEN    E 

IN   THE    UNITED   ST  A  TES.-A  RRiy  A  L   OF   OENET     AS   MIN 

ISTER  OF   THE   FRENCH   REPUBLIC:   HIS   PROCEEDINGS  AT 

CHARLESTON.  — NEUTRAL  POSITION   OP  THE  UNITED 

STATES.— COMMERCIAL   RESTRICTIONS  BY  FRANCE' 

AND    ENGLAND.- IMPRESSMENT   OF    AMERICAN 

SEAMEN.  — RETIREMENT    OF    JEFFERSON.— 

ALOERINE     DEPREDATIONS. 

At  the  election  of  president  and  vice-president,  for  the  term  com- 
rnencngm  March  1793,  Washington  was  reelected  without  a  shadow 
of  opposU.on  lie  felt  great  disinclination  to  continue  longer  il 
office  and  only  consented  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  efectors 
and  the  peop  e,  for  the  purpose  of  calming  the  turbulence  of  the 
great  pohfcal  parties.  His  high  character  and  popularity  could 
not  hield  hun  en  , rely  from  the  animadversions  of  those  of  the 
repubhcan  party  who  suspected  him  of  aristocratic  predilections  It 
jssa.d  that  on  one  occasion,  subsequent  to  his  reelection,  in  an  out- 
break of  feehng,  excited  by  some  personal  attack,  he  declared,  "that 
be  had  never  repented  but  once  the  having  slipped  the  moment  of 
resigning  his  office,  and  that  was  every  moment  since;  that  by  God 

e  had  rather  be  in  his  grave  than  in  his  present  situation;  that  he 
had  rather  be  on  his  farm  than  be  made  emperor  of  the  world;  and 
yet  that  they  were  charging  him  with  wanting  to  be  a  kin.^  " 

In  opposition  to  Adams,  the  candidate  .'br  vice-presSeut  the 
republicans  set  up  George  Clinton:  the  federalists 'obtained  the 
arger  vote.  Thus  defeat  aggravated  the  rancour  of  some  of  le 
leachng  liberals,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  influence  of  the 

Crtiir   "  """"^^ ''''''  ''''-'^^  ^'^  «pi>-"^^  '-^'w 

At  this  period,  a  new  and  important  element  in  the  political  con- 
troversy of  America,  arose  from  a  dilference  in  feeling  and  sym  nthv 
excited  by  the  stormy  events  of  the  French  revolutbn.  Kne 
a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  inquire  how  far  the  United  States     .^"u 


328 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


allow  themselves  to  be  implicated  in  the  general  agitation  whicli 
threatened  Europe.  One  of  the  first  questions  to  be  decided  was 
what  force  did  a  treaty,  concluded  witjx  the  king  of  France,  possesa 
upon  the  overthrow  of  his  government,  and  under  the  rule  of  the 
republic.  Popular  enthusiasm  was  strongly  aroused  in  favour  of 
the  revolution,  a  feeling  not  to  be  effectually  damped  by  intelligence 
of  the  blood-thirsty  fanaticism  which  was  exhibited  by  too  many  of 
its  supporters. 

The  arrival  at  Charleston  (in  the  month  of  April,  1793)  of  Genet 
the  first  ambassador  commissioned  by  the  republic  to  negotiate  with 
the  United  States,  rendered  some  decisive  action  imperative.  Afler 
consultation  with  the  cabinet,  in  which  views  diametrically  opposite 
were  entertained  by  the  leaders  of  the  opposite  parties,  the  president 
issued  a  proclamation  of  neutrality,  expressly  forbidding  citizens 
of  the  United  States  to  fit. out  vessels  for  the  purpose  of  lend- 
ing aid  to  either  of  the  belligerent  nations,  or  in  any  other  manner 
to  take  share  in  hostilities  so  long  as  this  neutral  position  should  be 
maintained. 

The  French  minister  was  enthusiastically  received  at  Charleston, 
where  he  spent  some  time  in  the  preparation  of  two  cruisers,  to  the 
commanders  of  which  he  filled  out  commissions,  under  authority  of 
the  republic,  to  prey  upon  British  commerce.  After  this  high- 
handed proceeding.  Genet  travelled  by  land  to  Philadelphia,  wel- 
comed at  every  town,  on  his  passage,  by  the  most  flattering  exhibition 
of  popular  feeling.  Ilis  conduct  at  Charleston,  after  a  cabinet 
consultation,  was  declared  illegal  by  government;  the  service  of 
American  citizens,  under  French  commi.ssions,  was  pronounced  a 
public  offence;  and  restitution  was  ordered  of  prizes  taken  in  Amer- 
ican waters. 

So  far  was  the  French  minister  encouraged  by  the  sympathy  of 
the  powerful  republican  party,  that,  in  many  instances,  he  set  at 
nought  the  claims  and  decisions  distinctly  made  by  the  American 
government.  His  reception  by  the  president  was  courteous,  but  the 
avowed  neutrality  of  the  United  States  was  carefully  j^uardcd  in  all 
diplomatic  intercourse.  Disinclination  to  break  with  an  old  and 
powerful  ally,  the  force  of  national  antipathies  and  predilections,  and 
the  influence  of  the  popular  feeling,  checked  that  exertion  of  execu- 
tive power  which  the  occasion  seemed  to  require.  Privateers  were 
fitted  out  at  various  ports  in  the  United  States;  numerous  prizes 
were  brought  in  openly,  and  condemned  by  the  decisions  of  the 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


829 


French  consuls,  acting  under  powers  granted  by  Genet,  on  behalf 
of  his  own  government. 

In  one  case,  a  British  vessel,  the  Little  Sarah,  seized  by  the 
French  frigate  in  which  Genet  had  first  come  over  from  France,  was 
fitted  out  UH  a  privateer  at  Philadelphia,  and,  after  being  rechristened, 
the  Little  Democrat,  proceeded  to  sea,  notwithstanding  a  promise, 
virtual  or  expressed,  on  the  part  of  that  minister,  that  she  should 
remain  until  the  claims  of  those  interested  in  the  vessel  could  be 
adjusted. 

The  government  moderately,  but  firmly,  persisted  in  maintaining 
a  neutral  position,  and  in  respecting  the  rights  of  Great  Britain. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  summer,  guaranty  of  indemnity  was  formally 
announced  for  all  losses  by  British  owners  irom  previous  illegal 
seizures  within  the  waters  of  the  United  States,  the  distance  thence- 
forth protected  being  fixed  at  one  league  from  shore,  and  including, 
of  course,  all  bays  and  harbours  within  the  federal  jurisdiction! 
The  French  government,  at  the  same  time,  was  required  to  give  up 
all  prizes  already  illegally  taken,  and  a  direct  requisition  was  made 
for  a  recall  of  the  arrogant  Genet. 

The  violence  and  insolence  of  this  official  had  greatly  diminished 
the  popular  favour  which  greeted  him  on  his  first  arrival.  The 
wiser  and  more  far-sighted  politicians  looked  upon  him  as  a  danger- 
ous man;  his  course  of  conduct  tended  to  involve  the  states' in 
unnecessary  difficulties  with  England;  and  he  was,  undoubtedly, 
engaged  hi  machinations  for  the  organization  of  expeditions  against 
the  Spanish  possessions  in  Louisiana  and  Florida.  Any  movement 
towards  the  effecting  of  a  free  exit  from  the  Mississippi  met  with 
great  ftivour  fi'om  the  settlers  on  the  western  waters. 

To  add  to  other  difficulties  in  maintaining  a  position  of  neutrality, 
the  commerce  of  the  states  began  to  suffer  severely  from  the  effect 
of  regulations  instituted  both  by  France  and  England  respecting  the 
rights  of  neutrals  to  carry  on  trade  with  the  enemy.  By  the  law  of 
nations,  sup^  ?s  destined  for  a  blockaded  port  may  be  liable  to 
seizure;  but  the  declaration  that  all  the  ports  of  an  enemy  are  in  a 
state  of  blockade,  affords  but  a  shallow  excuse  for  the  plunder  of  a 
neutral  nation.  Against  Great  Britain  another  cause  of  complaint 
existed,  if  of  less  political  importance  than  this  interference  with 
trade,  yet  of  a  nature  to  excite  far  greater  bitterness  of  private  ani- 
mosity. This  was  the  continual  impressment  of  British  seamen, 
serving  on  board  of  American  vessels,  and— either  through  error  or 


830 


THE  PfiOPLE'8  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


pretended  mistake— the  seizure  of  Americans,  by  the  same  arbitrary 
and  summary  powers.  It  is  fully  establislied  that  many  citizens  of 
the  states  were  subjected  to  this  indignity  and  outrage. 

Shortly  after  the  coming  together  of  congress  in  December,  1793 
Jefferson  retired  from  office,  and  was  succeeded  as  secretary  of  state 
by  Eandolph,  former  attorney-general.  A  report  upon  the  com- 
mercial relations  of  the  United  States,  carefully  prepared  by  the 
retiring  secretary,  and  exhibiting  his  political  views  respecting  the 
policy  to  be  pursued  towards  France  and  England,  was  submitted 
to  the  consideration  of  congress.  This  document  urged  a  discrimi- 
nation in  favour  of  France,  and  met  with  the  more  favourable 
reception  in  consideration  of  both  real  and  fancied  aggressions  on 
the  part  of  England.  Among  other  grounds  of  dissatisfaction  the 
continuance  of  Indian  disturbances  at  the  nortli-west  was  prominent, 
these  being  attributed  to  the  influence  of  British  emissaries,  encour- 
aged by  the  Canadian  governors. 

The  first  important  action  of  congress  related  to  the  means  to  be 
adopted  for  opposing  a  check  upon  the  depredations  of  piratical 
cruisers  from  Algiers  and  other  portions  of  the  Barbary  states,  by 
which  the  navigation  of  the  Mediterranean  was  rendered  unsafe,  and 
for  the  release  of  prisoners  taken  by  the  pirates,  and  still  held  in 
captivity.  A  considerable  sum  of  money  was  appropriated  for  the 
purpose  of  purchasing  terms  of  treaty,  while,  at  the  same  time,  in 
anticipation  of  a  failure  in  this  attempt,  congress  ordered  the  prepar- 
ation of  a  naval  armament  adequate  to  enforce  the  claims  of  the 
United  States. 


THB  UNITED  STATES.  831 


CHAPTEE?. 

AMERICAN  POLITICS— DEDATE  IN  CONORBSS  UPON   POREION 
RELATIONS  — PDHTIIEH  AOORE88I0N8  OF  ENGLAND,— COM- 
MISSION   OP    JAY    AS    AMBASSADOR    EXTRAORDINARY    TO 
GREAT  BRITAIN— RELIEP  OP  IMMIGRANTS   PROM    ST. 
DOMINGO.  — THE  NEUTRALITY  L  A  WS.  — R  ESIST  ANCK 
TO  THE   EXCISE:    REBELLION   IN  WESTERN   PENN- 
SYLVANIA; ITS  PORCIBLE  SUPPRESSION:  OPIN- 
IONS OP  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

The  introduction,  by  Mr.  Madison,  of  resolutions  in  support  of 
I  the  views  entertained  in  Jefferson's  report,  gave  rise  to  lengthy  and 
vehement  discussion.  The  two  great  parties  had  taken  issue  upon 
the  subject  of  the  policy  to  be  pursued  towards  France  and  England  • 
the  sympathy  of  the  democratic  republicans  was  exclusively  extended 
towards  the  former  nation,  while  the  federaliste,  questioning  the  sta 
bihty  and  good  faith  of  the  new  republic,  were  anxious  to  avoid 
serious  collision  with  the  government  of  Great  Britain. 

Smith,  of  South  Carolina,  took  the  load  of  the  opposition,  and 
argued  at  length  upon  the  futility  as  well  as  injustice  of  any  attempt 
at  governing  the  foreign  policy  of  England  by  a  discriminating  scale 
of  duties  and  tonnage.     The  resolutions,  by  virtue  of  which  the 
commerce  of  nations  under  no  commercial  treaty  with  the  United 
States  was  to  be  subjected  to  restrictions  or  burdens  not  extended 
to  others,  passed  by  a  small  majority.     They  were  avowedly  aimed 
at  the  trade  with  England.     "Of  the  efficacy  of  these  commercial 
restrictions,"  says  Mr.  Ilildreth,  "as  a  means  of  coercing  Great  Brit- 
ain, Madison  and  his  party  entertained  very  extravagant  idea.s,  of 
which  they  had  afterward  ample  opportunity  to  be  cured.     What 
indeed,  could  be  more  extravagant  than  the  statement  that  Great 
Britam  imported  necessaries  from  us,  and  we  only  luxuries  from  her 
repeated  over  and  over  again  by  the  representatives  of  a  state  whose 
chief  export  was  tobacco,  and  whose  imports  were  principally  cloth- 
ing, tools,  and  other  manufactured  articles  of  daily  use  and  necessity? 
In  all  these  commercial  struggles,  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that 
the  richest  party  can  endure  the  longest,  and  is  sure  to  triumi  h  in 
the  end."  ^ 


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332 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


The  measures  adopted  against  Great  Brituin  were  rendered  still 
more  popular  upon  the  arrival  of  intelligence  that  orders  had  been 
issued  by  the  admiralty  in  November  previous,  by  which  neutral 
trade  with  French  colonies  was  as  arbitrarily  dealt  with  as  that  with 
France  direct.  It  was  also  reported  that  the  British  governor  of 
Lower  Canada,  Lord  Dorchester,  at  an  Indian  council,  had  delivered 
an  address  breathing  a  hostile  spirit  towards  the  United  States. 

The  anticipated  danger  was  met  by  appropriations — on  rather  a 
small  scale,  considering  the  supposed  necessities  of  the  case — for  for- 
tifying various  sea-ports,  and  for  organization  and  training  of  the 
militia.  A  temporary  embargo  was  also  decided  upon.  So  strong 
was  the  hostile  feeling,  that  a  motion  was  made,  and  warmly  urged 
for  the  sequestration  of  debts  due  to  British  creditors,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  applying  them  to  indemnify  those  who  had  sustained  losses 
by  seizure  of  property  under  the  obnoxious  laws  restraining  neutral 
trade.  It  was  also  proposed  that  all  trade  with  Great  Britain  should 
cease  until  reparation  should  be  made  for  these  illegal  seizures  and 
until  an  evacuation  of  the  western  military  posts  should  be  ordered. 

The  English  ministry,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  to  incline  to 
pacific  and  conciliatory  measures,  being  "too  fully  and  deeply  occu- 
pied with  treasons  at  home,  and  the  menace  of  invasion  from  abroad 
to  answer  this  waspishness  of  America  in  a  similar  tone.  On  the 
contrary,  the  last  obnoxious  order  of  the  admiralty  was  recalled,  and 
the  federal  party  were  able  to  rally,  and  entertain  hopes  of  avoiding 
a  rupture." 

Washington  was  anxious  to  preserve  peaceable  relations  with 
Great  Britain,  and,  foreseeing  the  possible  results  of  heated  and 
angry  debate  in  congress,  with  the  recurrence  of  successive  hostile 
enactments  passed  upon  the  spur  of  the  occasion,  and  insufficiently 
digested,  he  fixed  upon  a  plan  to  set  the  matter  temporarily  at  rest. 
In  the  month  of  April,  1794,  he  proposed  to  the  senate  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  minister  extraordinary,  empowered  to  negotiate  for  the 
settlt-'inent  of  all  existing  difficulties  with  England,  and  nominated 
for  tins  mission,  Chief-Justice  Jay.  The  nomination  was  confirmed, 
by  a  very  close  vote. 

Tiiose  were  times  of  great  political  excitement.     Every  arrival 
from  Europe  brought  news  replete  with  interest,  and  having  a  bear- 
ing upon  American  politics  more  direct  than  we  can  well  appreciate  * 
at  tho  present  time.     The  more  violent  of  the  republican  party  imi- 
itated  the  French  organization  of  political  clubs,  a;;;!  in  the  midst 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


888 


of  the  Reign  of  Terror,"  were  so  far  blinded  by  party  zeal  as  to 
rejcce  over  rntelhgence  of  proceedings  which,  if  brought  nearer 
Lome,  would  have  excited  unmingled  horror  and  disgust  Others 
more  moderate,  yet  with  equal  sympathy  for  a  nation  involved  1  ke 
our  own  in  a  strife  between  the  people  and  their  hereditary  tyrants 
lamented  over  the  violence  which  by  reaction  must  eventLly  p^! 
judice  the  cause  of  liberty  and  of  equal  righte  ^ 

S .  Domingo  had  issued  a  proclamation  by  which  the  slaves  on  that 
island  were  set  free.  The  country  became  generally  unsafe  fo 
whites,  and  many,  abandoning  all  their  effecH  mailed  for  the  United 
States.  A  bill  introduced  for  the  relief  of  these  unfortunate  immt 
grants  called  forth  much  argument  upon  the  constitutional  limits  of 
the  power  of  congress.  No  authority  can  be  discovered  in  the  con- 
stitution for  any  appropriation  for  mere  purposes  of  charity,  except 
by  a  forced  implication  under  the  general  provisions  for  foretn 
intercourse  The  measure  was,  notwithstanding,  carried,  by  virtue 
0  Its  popularity,  and  has  formed  a  precedent  actd  upon'at  a  much 
ater  period,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  famine  in  IreLd  p'teet 
"J  "'"  'PP^^P"^^^'  '''  *^^  -^-f  of  t^e  French 

Another  act,  passed  at  this  session,  of  great  present  interest  was 
called  forth  by  the  continued  efforts  of  French  ageni.  to  organize 
expeditions  against  the  Spanish  possessions  of°Louisiana.  The 
anxiety  of  the  western  settlers  to  obtain  possession  of  the  Mississippi 

p rise,  ,f  winked  at  by  government.     A  bill  to  restrain  American   ' 
.tizens  from  engaging  in  hostilities  with  friendly  nations  pas  ed 
both  houses  early  in  June.     A  fine  of  one  thousand  dollars  and  throe 
yeai.  imprisonment  were  made  the  penalty  for  entrance  into  foieign 

btates     Tins  provision  was  specially  aimed  at  those  who  should 

htl  d  "^  n  r"^'  *'^  ^'""'"'y  ^--^^^d  against  those  wh  m 
y   ad  seduced  from  allegiance  being  remitted  upon  conviction  o^ 
the  former,  consequent  on  their  information 

The  equipment  of  vessels,  and  the  organization  of  expeditions 

within  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  lustil^^es 

gainst  any  country  at  peace  with  the  confederation!  subjected  t" 

offender  to  a  still  heavier  fine,  with  the  same  term  of  imprisonment 

To  secure  promptitude  in  the  suppression  of  such  unlaw   ,1  en  c' 


834 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTOEY, 


prise,  the  president  was  expressly  authorized  to  exert  his  powers  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  military  forces  of  the  United  States,  and 
in  case  of  necessity  to  call  out  the  militia. 

A  serious  civil  disturbance  took  place  in  western  Pennsylvania 
during  the  summer.  The  law  imposing  excise  duties  on  spirituous 
liquors  of  domestic  manufacture  had  been,  from  the  first,  particularly 
obnoxious  in  this  section  of  the  country,  the  difficulty  of  getting 
grain  to  market  rendering  its  consumption  for  purposes  of  distil- 
lation a  matter  of  great  convenience  and  profit.  Process  being 
issued  against  certain  distillers  who  had  neglected  to  conform  to  the 
provisions  of  the  act,  the  civil  officials  were  resisted,  and  the 
rioters,  adopting  an  offensive  attitude,  assailed  the  house  of  the 
inspector. 

The  spirit  of  insurrection  rapidly  spread  throughout  the  western 
counties,  and  the  people,  inflamed  by  the  speeches  and  influence  of 
demagogues,  set  the  laws  at  defiance,  maltreated  its  officers,  and  held 
public  meetings  for  organizing  a  regular  system  of  resistance.  The 
mails  were  intercepted  to  cut  off  communication  with  the  seat  of 
government,  and  the  friends  of  order  and  obedience  to  the  laws  were 
completely  overawed  in  all  the  disaffected  districts. 

The  leaders  of  this  insurrection  became  the  more  insolent  and 
exacting  from  the  mild  measures  at  first  resorted  to  for  allaying  the 
tumult,  and  the  president  found  it  necessary  to  exert  his  constitu- 
tional powers  for  the  support  of  the  laws.  A  requisition  was  made  for 
fifteen  thousand  militia,  from  Pennsylvania  and  the  adjoining  states: 
an  overpowering  force  was  marched  into  the  western  counties,  and 
every  symptom  of  rebellion  speedily  disappeared.  Those  who'  had 
taken  the  most  active  part  in  the  outbreak  made  their  escape:  many 
arrests  were  made,  but  great  leniency  was  exhibited  towards  the  few 
found  guilty  upon  trial. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  the  republican  party  in  general,  that  this 
demonstration  was  uncalled  for  by  the  exigency  of  the  circumstances. 
Jefferson,  in  a  letter,  says  of  the  doings  of  the  rebels :  "  We  know  of 
none  which,  according  to  the  definitions  of  the  law,  have  been  any 
thing  more  than  riotous.  *  *  The  information  of  our  militia 
returned  from  the  westward  is  uniform,  that,  though  the  people  there 
let  them  pass  quietly,  they  were  objects  of  their  laughter,  not  of  their 
feaV;  that  one  thousand  men  could  have  cut  off  their  whole  force  in 
a  thousand  places  of  the  Alleghany;  that  their  detestation  of  the 
excise  law  is  universal,  and  has  now  associated  to  it  a  detestation  of 


i  m 


■'  ,'.  •' 


liEORGE    WASHINGTON, 

FIRST   PRESIDENT   OF  THE    UNITED  STATES. 

BORN  FEB.  22,   1732,  IN  WESTMORELAND  COUNTY.  Va  ;    TOOK  OATH  OF 
OFFICE,   APRIL  30    1789:   SERVED  8  TEARS;  DIED  DEC.  14,  1799 


TlIK   UNITED  STATES. 


885 


l't/nr''r'"v  i  '"^.  '^^"*  ''P'^^"*^""'  ^^'^-^'  perhaps,  was  a  very 


CHAPTER   ?  I. 

'l^mVi^'lV  '^"^^^«^  ^«^IN"  THE  NOIITH-WESTERN 
M   Imi  «7prn?''  ''  '"'  CONPEDERATE  TRIBES  AT  THE 
iriAMI  RAPIDS.—NATURAUZATION   LAWS.— THE  DEMO 
CRATIC     CLUBS.-HAMILTON-S     RESIGN ATION  -THE 
BRITISH  TREATY..  ITS  R ATIPIC ATION:   POPULAR  IK        . 
DIONATION.— RANDOLPH'S  RESIGNATION 

The  north-western  Indians,  unmolested  by  any  important  military 
expedition  smce  their  signal  vietory  oyer  St.  Clair,  had  grown  oZ 
tinual ly  more  insolent  and  exacting  in  their  demands.     The  process 

considered  all  white  emigrants  from  the  east  as  encroachers  and 

ties.    It  finally  became  essential  to  oppose  a  forcible   check   to 
heir  ravages.     To  guard  against  the  possibility  of  a  second  defeat 
he  campaign  of  1794  was  preceded  by  the  fortification  of  mH  ta  y 

ble  by  St.  Clair's  defeat.     The  latter  was  named  Fort  Recovery 
The  preceding  winter  and  spring  were  occupied  in  these  works 
nd  ^n  the  collection  of  an  army,  the  command  of  which  was  be 
owed  upon  Generah  Wayne.     On  the  30th  of  June,  1794,  the 
s  ength  of  the  position  at  Fort  Recovery  was  tested  by  a  fierce 
attack  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  assisted  by  a  number  of  whitesl 
English  or  Canadians.     The  place  was  successfully  defended,  al- 
though  not  without  heavy  loss.  • 

In  the  month  of  August  active  operations  were  commenced. 
When  the  army  was  once  put  in  motion,  important  and  decisive 
events  rapidly  succeeded.  The  march  was  directed  into  the  heart  of 
the  Indian  settlements  on  the  Miami,  now  called  Maumee,  a  river 
emptying  into  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Erie.  Where  the 
beautiful  sti^am  A^  Ghiise  empties  into  the  river,  a  fort  was  imme- 


836 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


dlately  erected,  and  named  Fort  Defiance.  From  this  post  General 
Wayne  sent  emissaries  to  invito  the  hostile  nations  to  negotiation 
but  the  pride  and  rancour  of  the  Indians  prevented  any  favourahle 
results.  Little  Turtle,  indeed,  seemed  to  forebode  the  impending 
storm,  and  advised  the  acceptance  of  the  terms  offered.  'The 
Americans,'  said  he,  'are  now  led  by  a  chief  who  never  sleeps:  the 
night  and  the  day  are  alike  to  him.  *  *  Think  well  of  it. 
There  is  something  whispers  me  it  would  be  prudent  to  listen  to  his 
offers  of  peace.'"*  Wayne  was  commonly  called  by  the  Indians 
the  "Black  Snake:"  another  soubriquet,  bestowed  upon  him  by  his 
own  followers,  was  that  of  "Mad  Anthony." 

The  American  camp  was  posted  in  the  midst  of  such  extensive 
and  highly  cultivated  fleids  of  corn  as  excited  the  admiration  and 
astonishment  of  the  invaders.  The  country  "presented  for  miles 
the  appearance  of  a  single  village,  and  rich  corn-flelds  spread  on 
either  side."  The  Indians  had  retreated  down  the  river  from  their 
settlement,  upon  the  advance  of  the  army,  and  had  taken  up  a 
position  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  British  fort,  near  the  Miami 
rapids.  This  was  one  of  those  posts  retained  by  Great  Britain  in 
defiance  of  former  treaties,  and  constituted,  as  was  generally  be- 
lieved, a  d^pot  where  the  Indians  could  procure  arms  and  counsel, 
if  not  direct  assistance. 

General  Wayne  attacked  the  enemy  in  their  position,  on  the  20th 
of  August.  The  Indians  fought  bravely:  skilled  in  the  use  of  fire- 
arms, and  somewhat  familiar  with  the  tactics  of  modern  warfare, 
they  were  far  different  opponents  from  what  they  had  been  in  earlier 
times.  Their  array,  however,  was  broken  by  a  charge  of  bayonets, 
and  an  entire  rout  ensued.  The  powerful  confederacy  was,  for  the 
time,  annihilated;  and  the  Americans,  retracing  their  steps,  spent 
some  time  in  laying  waste  the  fields  and  settlements  of  the  wretched 
savages.  Garrisons  were  posted  at  the  forts  within  the  Indian  dis- 
tricts, and  the  army  retired  to  Greenville  for  winter-quarters. 

The  more  important  proceedings  of  congress,  at  the  winter  session 
of  1794-5,  related  to  the  naturalization  laws — which  were  estab- 
lished as  at  present,  requiring  five  years'  residence  in  the  United 
States,  a  declaration  of  intention  three  years  previous  to  the  final 
application,  and  one  years'  residence  in  the  state  where  the  petition 
is  granted ; — and  the  establishment  of  a  system  for  the  appropria- 
tion of  surplus  revenue  for  the  reduction  of  the  national  debt. 
*  Indian  Races  of  America. 


THE  UNITED   STATES. 


837 


A  lengthy  and  excited  debate  arose  early  in  the  session  „r,nn  ♦>, 

que«t,on  as  to  what  action  should  be  taken  in      rr^elin  re 

n^arks  m  a  message  of  the  president,  relative   to  Ihe   drol    ' 

1.  Us  ^" '^r!^^^'"^  ^°  *he  circumstanees  attendant  upon  the  excte 

tumults,  Wash.ngton  alluded  to  these  associations,  as  "self created 

:rn  i:  th"     "  '"'"T  ''^'  '^^"  P^^"'^'-«^^  extended  n  opt 
fiition  to  the  power  and  authority  of   government     TJ,«    c      . 

concurred  in  this  denunciation;  t'e  houfe  of Tp    Ltat    es  C 

the  action  of  mdividuals  or  societies,  which  should  have  resulted  in 
mKsrepresentations  of  the  proceedings  of  government,  Ir  1  ave  coun 
tenanced  resistance  to  lawful  authority 

asirarronhrf "  *''*  ^'f^'"''''  ^^™^'*^"  ^^^'^-^  his  office 
as  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  General  Knox  that  of  secretarv  of 

war     Oliver  Wolcott,  an  offiper  connected  with  the  treaury  depart 
limothy  Pickering,  former  post-master  general.     It  is  said  th^t  fZ 

s^oS^  '^^  ^^'^^^^"'  ^"  *h«  p-*of  btrihet;!?: 

guKshed  officials  was  pecuniary  necessity,  the  pay  awarded  for  their 
public  services  being  grossly  inadequate  ' 

A  special  session  of  the  senate  was  called  early  in  June  1795  to 
deliberate  upon  a  treaty  recently  arranged  between  Jay  the  Ameri- 
can ambassador  extraordinary,  and  the  British  minister  LordGrln- 
V  He.  Great  Britain,  it  was  found,  would  consent  to  few  concessions- 
the  most  objectionable  of  her  claims  were  still  insisted  Ton  oTleft 
open;  and  the  commercial  privileges  yielded  to  America'we're  ge„ 
rally  accompanied  by  onerous  restrictions  or  conditions.  She  agreed 
to  give  up  possession  of  the  western  posts  upon  security  for  pavS 
of  debts  due  to  British  subjects  before  the  revolution.'^A  rfc bra 
agreoment  provided  for  indemnity  in  all  cases  of  illegal  seizu  es 

Br^hwT?  ?'"'''"  of  commerce,  the  right  to°trade  w  1  the 
British  West  Indies  was  restricted  to  vessels  not  exceeding  seventy 
tons  measurement,  a  privilege  counterbalanced  by  a  prohfbition  of 
any  exportation  of  articles  similar  to  those'  produid  in  tho  colo- 
nies, from  America  to  Europe.  A  wide  discretion  was  still  claimed 
respecting  the  right  to  seize  supplies  destined  for  any  count  ywih 
which  England  should  be  engaged  in  hostilities.  Such  art  cleTls 
were  not  cleariy  <<  contraband  of  war,"  were,  it  is  true,  to  be  pa  d  for 
f  seized.  No  indemnity  could  be  procured  for  those  who  h.d  suf' 
fcred  loss  from  the  abduction  of  slaves  by  the  British  durbg  thi 


888 


THE   PEOPLK'S    BOOK    OF   HISTORY. 


war;  and  the  right  to  impress  subjects  of  the  king,  if  found  on 
board  American  vessels,  was  insisted  upon,  and  remained  undecided. 
Goods  belonging  to  an  enemy  were  still  claimed  by  England  to  be 
liable  to  seizure  on  board  the  vessels  of  a  neutral. 

The  treaty  was  approved  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  senate,  (ob- 
jection being  taken  to  the  article  relating  to  the  West  India  trade, 
upon  which  action  was  suspended,)  and  received  the  ratification  of 
the  president  on  the  14th  day  of  August,  notwithstanding  a  storm 
of  popular  indignation,  which  had  broken  out  upon  its  publication. 
The  terms  agreed  upon  fell  so  far  short  of  the  expectations  or  wi.shea 
of  the  people,  that  meetings  were  every  where  held,  and  violent 
denunciatory,  resolutions  passed,  A  memorial  accompanied  the  rat- 
ification, protesting  against  the  claim,  enforced  by  recent  orders  of 
admiralty,  respecting  the  indiscriminate  seizure  of  provisions  which 
might  be  destined  for  the  relief  of  an  e.nemy. 

At  this  time,  certain  private  communications  between  Mr.  Ed- 
mund Randolph,  the  secretary  of  state,  and  Fauchet,  the  successor 
of  Genet  as  ambassador  from  France,  having  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  British  government  by  an  intercepted  dispatch,  had  been  made 
known  to  the  president.  The  tendency  of  these  disclosures  was  to 
reflect  upon  the  secretary  an  imputation  of  double-dealing,  and  of 
some  unwarrantable  propositions.  He  accordingly  resigned  his  office, 
at  the  same  time  entering  into  an  elaborate  defence  of  his  conduct, 
and  indignantly  denying  the  validity  of  conclusions  adopted  by  his 
political  opponents.  A  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  case  is  en- 
tirely beyond  our  limits,  and  it  may,  indeed,  be  doubted  whether 
■we  have  means  for  arriving  at  a  determinate  opinion  respecting 
the  affair. 


Tim    UNITED   8TATB8. 


889 


L_ 


CHAPTER   YIL 

TRADE-    K„,,     'rc'T''''  ''''''  ''  ^«^'''«AN 

TREATY  —AMERICAN  MINISTERS  TO  PRANCE 
-WA8i„,„,oN.S  RETIREMENT  PROM  oF      ' 
nCB:   SLANDERS  UPON   HIS  CHARACTER 
—JOHN  ADAMS  ELECTED  PRESIDENT, 

British,  were  aSoevacL^^^^^  '''''  '""''^  ''''^  ^"-'  the 

a  willingness  to  1^^ ra  S,^^^^ 

aboutat  Port  Greenville  at  fh!r  ••.  """'*'"«  ^''^  b^-o^gbt 
General  Wayne.  o7hlauX:u2i:^  ''''^  ''  ^^^^ 

nite  agreement  ;ith  the  prl  'l  cH  f  ^''  '"*"'''  '"^°  ^  ^^fi" 
ries,  &c.  The  Indians  gav'e  «p  a'  Jat  1 1"''°'"^  '^^"^^  ^°""^^- 
in  the  present  state  of  nw?      ?  ''"  immense  tract  included 

Before  the  n  xT  sessbn  of   '     "  "*'  "*'"  '^'^'^  '^^*^^^  --*• 

also  negotiated  wihheTv  TaT"'  ""'''  '"'^'''''''  ''''''''  ^«>« 

ernment.  In  co^n  w^l^^fr  f  E  '  "'''  "^^'  ^'^  '^^^^^^  ^- 
States  submitted  to  tL  ^         ^J  .^"^P^^'^  nations,  the  United 

in  order  to  secure  3at,^^^^^^^^        '"^^""'''T  «^  ^  ^^-7  tribute, 

AIgerinecorsairs;anrS:retreT;-sr 

tivity,  victims  of  former  piracies     Wnto    •  ,        °  ""P" 

.rrangemen.,  were  e.tabli.rThe  bo'i",  T^  '"""""""'^ 

for  the  nZZ    T    I  ^«P^«^^e»tatives,  at  its  winter  session 

loriQ  aii  the  iurj  of  the  opposition.    A  previous  refusal 


840 


THE  PKOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTOEY. 


by  the  president,  on  grounds  of  public  policy,  upon  a  call  from  the 
house,  to  lay  before  that  body  the  diplomatic  correspondence,  &c. 
relative  to  this  treaty,  had  a  tendency  to  aggravate  party  violence. 

The  question  was  debated  from  April  15th,  1796,  until  the  close 
of  the  month.  The  whole  effect  of  treaties;  whether  they  became 
binding  when  ratified,  or  whether  concurrence  of  the  house  by 
necessary  appropriations  was  requisite  before  the  national  faith  could 
be  considered  pledged;  and  an  application  of  general  principles 
to  this  particular  treaty,  formed  abundant  theme  for  argument  and 
declamation.  A  compromise  was  finally  effected,  by  a  passao-e  of 
the  appropriations,  as  being  a  matter  of  present  expediency,  without 
any  decision  of  the  general  position  in  dispute. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  just  at  the  close  of  the  session,  the  state  of 
Tennessee  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  The  population  of  that  ter- 
ritory already  amounted  to  about  eighty  thousand,  including  negroes. 

The  conclusion  of  Jay's  British  treaty  excited  great  dissatisfaction 
in  France.  The  Directory,  indignant  that  America  should  have 
yielded  to  the  British  claims  respecting  the  seizure  of  French  prop- 
erty on  board  neutral  vessels,  declared  that  France  was  no  lonfrer 
bound  by  the  stipulations  of  her  former  treaty  with  the  United 
States,  and,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1796,  an  order  was  promulgated 
"authorizing  the  ships-of  war  of  the  republic  to  treat  neutral  vessels 
in  the  same  manner  in  which  they  suffered  themselves  to  be  treated 
bv  the  English." 

Great  numbers  of  American  vessels  were  seized  and  confiscated 
under  this  decree.  Mr.  Monroe,  minister  to  France,  at  this  period 
was  a  member  of  the  republican  party,  and,  as  such,  warmly  fa- 
voured the  interests  of  that  nation.  He  had  met  with  an  enthusiastic 
reception,  and,  through  him,  a  formal  exchange  of  flags  had  been 
effected  between  France  and  the  United  States,  as  a  token  of  mutual 
respect  and  amity.  With  the  intention  of  adopting  a  stronger  tone 
towards  the  government  of  the  republic,  Washington  appointed 
Charles  C.  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina,  in  place  of  Monroe.  The 
new  envoy  sailed  for  France  in  September. 

As  the  period  of  his  second  term  of  office  approached.  President 
Washington,  in  a  farewell  address,  announced  his  determination  to 
retire  from  public  life.  This  valedictory  was  issued  in  the  month 
of  September,  1796.  Throughout  his  administration  his  conduct 
had  been  marked  by  firmness  and  integrity;  but  his  loaning  towards 
the  principles  of  the  federalists  was  an  unpardonable  sin  in  the 


THE    UNITED    STATES. 


841 


opinion  of  too  many  of  the  opposition.  Every  species  of  abuse  had 
been  heaped  upon  him  by  ranters  in  the  republican  party;  ambitious 
personal  views,  disregard  for  popular  rights,  a  tyrannical  disposition, 
and  even  peculations  upon  the  public  funds,  were  attributed  to  him 
The  grossest  misrepresentations  reflecting  upon  his  character  were 
circulated;  his  enemies  did  not  even  scruple  at  the  publication  of 
forged  letters  for  the  purpose  of  alienating  the  affection  and  respect 
of  the  people  from  their  former  idol. 

Time  has  exposed  these  falsehoods,  and  the  vituperation  of  polit- 
ical opponents  is  forgotten.  The  acrimony  of  party  zeal  has  ceased 
to  blind  men's  iTiinds  to  the  true  character  of  Washington ;  no  man 
in  public  life  has  left  behind  him  a  more  unblemished  reputation 
and  few  have  attained  equal  eminence  as  a  commander  and  a 
statesman. 

At  the  second  presidential  election,  the  great  political  parties  put 
forward,  as  their  respective  candidates,  John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferspn.  Seventy  votes  were  necessary  to  a  choice;  Adams  re- 
ceived seventy-one,  and  the  republican  candidate  sixty-nine  by  virtue 
of  which  he  entered  upon  the  office  of  vice-president.  The  inaugu- 
ration took  place  in  the  9th  of  March,  1797.  Washington  retired 
to  his  estate  at  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  life. 


CHAPTEH   ?HL 


TREATMENT   OF   UNITED  STATES'  AMBASSADORS  IN  FRANCE.— 
HOSTILE  PREPARATIONS   IN  AMERICA.  — NEW   EMBASSY:   RE 
FUSAL  OF   THE   DIRECTORY   TO    RECEIVE  THE  AMERICAN 

MINISTERS. — NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    TALLEYRAND. 

EXTRAVAGANT   DEMANDS   AND   INJURIOUS  DECREES  OF 

THE  DIRECTORY.— RETURN  OP  THE  AMBASSADORS,— 

ACTION  OF  CONGRESS:   MILITARY  PREPARATIONS: 

ALIEN  AND  SEDITION  LAWS:  LAND-TAX,  ETC. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Adams  opened  with  serious  and  per- 
plexing difficulties  connected  with  our  relations  towards  France. 
Soon  after  the  inauguration,  dispatches  arrived  from  Pinckney, 
setting  forth  the  injurious  reception  that  he  had  met  with  ou  the 


842 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HI8T0EY. 


part  of  the  Directory.  Monroe,  ui)on  presentation  of  his  own  letters 
of  recall,  and  those  relative  to  the  new  appointment,  was  notified 
that  Frapce  would  receive  no  other  ambassador  from  the  United 
States  until  redress  should  be  made  for  the  grievances  before  com- 
plained of  as  connected  with  the  British  treaty. 

The  retiring  minister,  at  his  last  audience,  was  dismissed  by  the 
president,  Barras,  in  a  speech  as  flattering  to  him  as  insulting  to  his 
country.  Pinckney  could  not  even  obtain  a  necessary  protection 
for  continuing  in  the  country  until  further  orders  from  home.  He 
was  compelled  to  leave  France,  and  proceeded,  accordingly,  to 
Holland. 

The  late  astonishing  successes  which  had  attended  her  arms  upon 
th«  continent,  caused  the  existing  government  of  France  to  under- 
value the  importance  of  preserving  friendly  relations  with  the 
American  republic;  and  the  tone  adopted  by  the  Directory  was  of 
a  character  calculated  tb  strengthen  the  federal  party  in  the  states. 
New  and  offensive  decrees  relative  to  American  commerce  speedily 
followed. 

President  Adams,  in  a  forcible  address  to  congress,  set  forth  the 
conduct  of  the  French  government,  as  opposed  to  all  rules  of  na- 
tional courtesy  and  right:  he  recommended  the  formation  of  a 
naval  force,  with  other  measures  for  defence  of  the  commerce  of  the 
country,  and  inveighed  against  the  interference  of  France  with  the 
internal  politics  of  the  United  States,  exhibited  in  various  endeav- 
ours to  influence  the  elections,  and  alienate  the  people  from  the 
government.  After  long  debate  in  the  house,  appropriations  were 
made,  ana  loans  authorized  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the 
views  of  the  president,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  a  draught 
of  militia  from  the  several  states  in  case  of  emergency. 

A  new  embassy  was  commissioned,  consisting  of  three  persons— 
Pinckney,  Marshall,  and  Gerry— to  make  a  further  attempt  at  the 
opening  of  pacific  negotiations.  The  envoys  proceeded  to  France 
and  arrived  in  Paris  early  in  October,  1797.  The  Directory  refused 
to  receive  them,  but  an  irregular  negotiation  was  commenced  through 
the  intervention  of  some  agents  of  Talleyrand,  then  minister  for 
foreign  affairs,  and  protracted,  without  important  issue,  until  April 
of  the  following  year.  During  this  period,  the  American  ambassa- 
dors were  officially  authorize^  to  remain  at  the  capital,  and,  from 
time  to  time,  held  interviews  with  Talleyrand  or  his  creatures. 
The  point  most  insisted  on  by  the  latter,  was  the  necessity  for 


JOHN   ADAMS, 

SECOND  PKE3IDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

fiORN  IN   173S       PRESIDENT  IN   1797,    SERVED   4   TEARS, 
DIED  JULY  4,  1826 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


848 


opening  the  way  to  a  complete  arrangement,  by  a  dommr  or  bribe 
ofabo.it  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  minister  and  directory,  and  the  effecting  a  loan  to  the  French 
government  of  a  further  sum.  This  rapacious  scheme  was  urged 
with  the  most  unblushing  effrontery.  "The  main  point,"  said  the 
Frenchmen,  "is  ilfaut  de  Vargent-Ufaut  heaucoup  d^argenC  Some- 
thing in  hand,  at  least,  they  urged,  should  be  paid  them,  until  the 
matter  could  be  finally  arranged.  In  vain  did  the  envoys  protest 
that  they  possessed  no  shadow  of  authority  for  such  proceedings 
or  undertakings;  the  matter  was  again  and  again  reverted  to 
and  suggestions,  unworthy  of  any  but  the  most  venal  and  cor- 
rupt, were  made  respecting  the  manner  in  which  it  might  be 
brought  about.  ° 

The  demands  of  the  Directory,  as  finally  communicated  by  Tal- 
leyrand, could  not  be  listened  to  for  a  moment.  If  granted,  they 
would  necessarily  involve  the  United  States  in  an  immediate  war, 
for  not  only  was  the  loan  insisted  upon,  but  also  an  annulmeni 
of  the  late  treaty  with  Great  Britain.  Desirous  to  terrify  or  force 
compliance  with  their  unreasonable  demands,  the  government  had 
during  the  winter,  greatly  extended  the  grounds  upon  which  Amer' 
lean  vessels  were  held  liable  to  seizure.  It  was  declared  that  all 
produce  of  any  dependency  of  Great  Britain,  without  regard  to 
existing  ownership,  should  be  lawful  prize,  if  found  on  board  a 
neutral  vessel. 

After  experiencing  every  slight  and  indignity,  two  of  the  Ameri- 
can commissioners  Marshall  and  Pinckney,  returned  to  the  states; 
Gerry,  through  whom,  individually,  many  of  the-  previous  commu- 
mcations  had  been  made  by  Talleyrand,  and  with  whom,  as  being 
the  only  republican  on  the  commission,  it  was  intimated  that  farther 
negotiations  might  be  continued,  remained  at  Paris 

Tins  treatment  of  the  United  States'  ambassadors*  could  not  fail  to 
weaken  the  influence  of  the  Gallican  party  in  America.  The  out- 
rageous demands  of  France,  and  the  character  of  the  late  commercLl 
decrees,  could  not  be  sustained  by  the  most  ardent  of  her  adheren 
on  this  side  the  water.  Congress  being  in  session,  April,  1798  di 
patches  containing  a  history  of  the  negotiation  we're  brought  upfor 
consideration.  The  most  active  measures  were  at  once  talZ  to 
repare  for  contingent  hostilities,  and  to  furnish  present  protection 

American  shipping.    Large  sums  were  appropriated  for  the  pur 
cha^e  of  munitions  of  war,  for  the  increase  of  the  naval  force,  and 


Hi 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HI8T0BY. 


for  fortifications.    A  new  cabinet  department  was  created  for  the 
management  of  naval  affairs. 

A  succession  of  important  and  decisive  measures  were  passed 
during  the  spring  and  summer.  Without  a  direct  declaration  of  war 
with  France,  orders  were  issued  for  a  cessation  of  all  commercial 
intercourse  with  that  country;  former  treaties  were  declared  to  be 
of  no  further  effect;  the  capture  of  any  armed  French  vessels  was 
authorized,  if  by  private  adventure,  and  directed,  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States'  navy.  The  latter  was  greatly  increased,  and  large 
appropriations  were  made  for  building  new  vessels  and  enlisting  a 
corps  of  marines. 

Powers  w.ere  bestowed  upon  the  president,  to  enlist  an  army  of 
ten  thousand  men,  in  case  of  urgent  necessity,  and  to  immediately 
appoint  military  officers,  and  make  arrangements  for  the  enrolment 
and  training  of  volunteers,  in  anticipation  of  such  contingency.  He 
also  received  discretionary  authority  to  order  from  the  country  any 
foreigner  who  should  be  suspected  of  dangerous  designs  against 
government;  and,  in  case  of  hostilities,  to  banish  or  arrest  all  per- 
sons belonging  to  the  nation  against  which  war  should  be  declared. 

To  meet  the  heavy  expense  of  these  defensive  measures,  a  tax 
was  laid  upon  slaves  and  real  estate.  As  a  check  upon  the  violence 
of  the  more  turbulent  portion  of  the  opposition,  and  a  restraint  upon 
foreign  intrigue,  an  act  was  passed  defining  and  affixing  punishment 
to  seditious  or  treasonable  conspiracies  for  opposing  the  authority 
of  government,  and  to  the  issuing  of  any  libel  upon  congress  the 
executive,  or  the  measures  of  government,  as  well  as  any  false  and 
malicious  publication,  having  a  tendency  to  excite  domestic  disaf- 
fection, or  to  aid  or  encourage  the  designs  of  any  hostile  nation. 

These  acts  met  with  a  very  strong  opposition  in  congress ;  but 
the  federal  party  was  in  a  decided  majority,  and  generally  succeeded 
in  carrying  the  measures  introduced  by  its  leaders. 

The  office  of  commander-in-chief  of  the  provisional  army  was  be- 
stowed upon  Washington:  his  acceptance  was  conditional  that  his 
services  should  be  required  only  in  case  of  emergency. 


L 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  j^- 


CHAPTEH   II.    • 

PACIFIC   MOVEMENTS  IN   PR ANCE.  — MISSION    OF    MURRAY  — 
NAVAL  ENGAGEMENTS.  — DEATH  OF   WASHINGTON  —NAPO- 
LEON   FIRST    CONSUL.— TREATY   WITH  F  RANCE.  — FIRST 
SESSION     OF     CONGRESS     AT     WASHINGTON.  — PRESI- 
DENTIAL   ELECTION;    JEFFERSON    PRESIDENT,    AND 
BURR  VICE-PRESIDENT,  — PARTY   REMOVAL   FROM 
OFFICE.— ECONOMICAL    REFORMS.  — OHIO     AD- 
MITTED   INTO    THE     UNION.— TRANSFER     OF 
LOUISIANA    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

The  r>irectory,  finding  all  efforts  to  involve  the  ITnited  States  in 
war  with  England  likely  to  prove  futile,  and  learning  by  experi- 
ence, that  m  naval  operations  the  retaliatory  measures  lately  adopted 
m  America,  would  tell  severely  upon  French  commerce,  adopted  a 
more  pacific  and  conciliatory  course.  Shortly  before  the  departure 
of  Gerry,  which  took  place  in  August,  1798,  Talleyrand  communi- 
cated  to  him  the  willingness  of  government  to  receive  a  minister 
from  the  United  States,  if  choice  should  be  made  of  one  free  from 
prejudice  against  the  interests  of  France;  and,  at  the  same  time 
renounced  all  the  more  objectionable  preliminaries  to  negotiations' 
before  so  pertinaciously  urged.  About  the  same  time,  decrees  were 
passed  for  securing  American  vessels  against  unauthorized  seizures 
by  French  privateers. 

In  answer  to  these  overtures,  the  senate,  upon  nomination  of 
President  Adams,  in  February  of  1799,  appointed  Mr.  Murray,  min- 
ister at  the  Hague,  jointly  with  Judge  Marshall  and  Patrick  Henry, 
to  undertake  a  new  mission  to  France,  a  condition  being  annexed 
that  intimation  must  be  given  by  that  nation  of  a  favourable  reception 
before  they  should  enter  the  French  territory.  General  Davie,  of 
North  Carolina,  took  the  place  of  Henry,  who  declined  serving'  on 
account  of  bodily  infirmities. 

These  negotiations  were  slowly  perfected,  and,  in  the  interim 
many  encounters  took  place  at  sea,  between  private  armed  vessels 
of  the  two  nations.  Those  employed  in  the  American  merchant  ser- 
vice, generally  availed  themselves  of  the  permission  accorded  by 
congress  to  carry  arms,  and  the  spirit  of  privateering,  perhaps  to 


846 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


be  considered  a  national  predilection,  was  gratified  by  the  seizure 
of  many  prizes.  In  February,  1799,  an  action  was  fought  at  sea 
near  the  island  of  St.  Kitt's,  between  the  United  States  frigate  Con- 
stellation, and  the  French  frigate  L'Insurgente,  in  which  the  latter 
after  a  severe  contest,  was  captured,  and  sent  a  prize  to  America. 

Upon  communication  through  Talleyrand,  of  the  readiness  of  the 
government  to  receive  American  envoys,  Marshall  and  Davie  were 
directed,  by  the  president,  to  embark  forthwith,  notwithstanding 
vehement  objections  from  a  portion  of  the  cabinet,  grounded  upon 
the  uncertainty  of  aiFairs  in  France,  consequential  upon  a  recent 
change  in  the  Directory. 

The  death  of  General  "Washington,  which  occurred  on  the  14th 
of  December,  1799,  silenced,  for  a  brief  period,  the  clamour  of  party 
contention,  and  all,  except  a  few  among  the  most  violent  and  pre- 
judiced of  his  former  opponents,  united  to  honour  his  memory  by 
public  testimonials  of  respect  and  gratitude. 

The  new  revolution  of  affairs  in  France,  and  the  elevation  of  Na- 
poleon to  the  office  of  First  Consul,  occurring  at  this  epoch,  augured 
favourably  for  the  establishment  of  permanent  peace  with  France. 
Meanwhile,  the  national  pride  of  the  United  States  was  farther 
gratified  by  intelligence  of  the  prowess  of  the  Constellation  in  an- 
other engagement  with  the  French  frigate  La  Vengeance,  a  vessel 
of  greatly  superior  force.  Although  the  latter  escaped,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  loss  of  a  mast  by  the  Constellation,  she  was  so  much 
damaged  that  she  was  condemned  upon  arrival  at  port.  The  loss 
of  men  on  board  the  French  vessel  was  four  times  greater  than  that 
suffered  by  the  Americans,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty  in  killed  and  wounded.  The  engagement  took  place  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1800. 

The  United  States'  ambassadors  were  received  by  the  First  Consul 
with  distinguished  consideration,  in  the  ensuing  month  of  March. 
Talleyrand  was  still  at  the  head  of  the  departmeni-  for  foreign  affiiirs, 
but  a  special  commission,  in  which  he  had  no  share,  was  appointed 
to  treat  on  the  part  of  the  French'  government.  Bound  down  by 
stringent  instructions,  the  envoys  could  enter  into  no  conclusive 
arrangement,  but  a  temporary  convention  was  agreed  upon,  that, 
until  the  negotiation  could  be  completed  and  a  new  treaty  entered 
into,  the  ships  of  either  nation  were  to  be  safe  from  seizure  under 
the  h.te  unreasonable  decrees. 

Provision  was  also  made  for  reconveyance  of  prizes  not  already 


THE    UNITED   STATES. 


847 


condemned,  and  of  captured  national  vessels,  and  preliminary  agree- 
ments were  arranged  for  the  future  discharge  of  private  claims  against 
either  government.  These  results  were  not  arrived  at  before  the 
month  of  October  of  the  same  year.  They  afterwards  formed  the 
basis  for  the  conclusion  of  a  satisfactory  treaty. 

When  congress  came  together  in  November,  the  public  buildings 
at  Washington  were  sufficiently  advanced  to  serve  the  purposes 
designed,  and  the  session  was  held  accordingly  at  the  new  capitol. 
The  approaching  presidential  election  was  the  all-absorbing  topic  of 
interest,  inasmuch  as  a  grand  trial  of  strength  was  expected  between 
the  two  political  parties.  President  Adams  had  lost  popularity  by 
the  strong  measures  adopted  in  anticipation  of  war  with  France,  his 
course  not  appearing  justified  by  the  subsequent  turn  of  events. 

The  respective  candidates  for  the  offices  of  president  and  vice- 
president,  were  Adams  and  Pinckney,  on  the  side  of  the  federals; 
while  Jefferson,  and  the  talented  but  intriguing  and  unprincipled 
Colonel  Aaron  Burr,  stood  forth  as  representatives  of  the  republicans. 
The  latter  were  successful,  but  as  they  received  an  equal  number  of 
votes,  by  the  existing  constitutional  regulation,  selection  devolved 
upon  the  house  of  representatives.  The  votes  were  taken  by  states, ' 
and  it  was  not  until  afler  thirty-five  divisions,  that  either  candidate 
could  secure  a  majority.  The  contest  terminated  at  the  thirty-sixth 
balloting,  on  the  17th  of  February,  1801.  Jefferson  obtained  the 
majority,  and  was  declared  president  accordingly.  Burr  entered 
upon  the  office  of  vice-president. 

With  the  accession  of  Jefferson  commenced  that  system  of  removal 
from  office  of  political  opponent?  to  the  administration,  which,  with 
a  greater  or  less  degree  of  personal  favoritism,  has  been  the  estab- 
lished policy  upon  every  succeeding  revolution  of  parties.  The 
changes  arbitrarily  introduced  by  the  new  president  were  mostly 
such  as  were  absolutely  essential  for  the  establishment  of  a  necessary 
unanimity  in  the  departments,  and  a  cordial  cooperation  in  the  new 
principles  of  government.  The  displacement  of  certain  federal  in- 
cumbents of  inferior  offices,  gave  occasion  for  great  complaint,  as 
being  uncalled  for,  and  the  result  of  mere  party  prejudice.  With 
our  present  experience  of  what  may  result  from  a  retaliatory  spirit, 
we  must  look  upon  these  removals  by  Jefferson  as  being  conducted 
with  distinguished  moderation. 

The  introduction  of  economical  reform  in  the  expenses  of 
government  received  the  first  attention  of  the  new  administration. 


848 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


The  navy  was  reduced,  and  its  place,  to  a  certain  extent,  supplied  bv 
gun-boats,  built  for  harbour  defence-the  inefficiency  of  which  after 
wards  demonstrated,  gave  occasion  for  much  ridicule.     In  respect  to 
matters  more  particularly  within  the  cognizance  of  a  landsman  and 
one  unacquamted  with  the  practical  conduct  of  military  affiiirs  tho 
economical  policy  of  Jefferson  was  wisely  and  judiciously  enforced 
Ihe  obnoxious  excise  laws,  and  the  land-tax,  were  repealed   by 
means  of  which  a  great  number  of  petty  but  expensive  offices  were 
annulled;  additional  federal  courts,  created  under  the  former  admin 
istration,  were  done  away  with;  and  provision  was  made  for  the 
reduction  and  eventual  payment  of  the  public  debt-the  existence 
of  which  was  supposed  to  give  undue  influence  to  the  treasurv 
department.  '  J 

In  1802,  the  state  of  Ohio,  whither  a  great  influx  of  emigrants  had 
poured  since  the  partial  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title  m. 
admitted  into  the  Union  by  act  of  congress,  and  commenced  its 
separate  existence  as  a  sovereign  state  early  in  the  following  sprinjr 

Ihe  transfer  of  the  immense  territory  of  Louisiana  from  Spain  to 
l^raiice,  and  the  negotiation  through  which  its  purchase  was  effected 
by  the  United  States  in  1803,  have  been  already  detailed  in  that 
portion  of  this  work  devoted  to  the  French  settlements  in  Americi 
No  event  could  have  been  of  greater  importance  to  our  western  states 
and  territories  than  this.     The  possession  by  any  foreign  nation  of 
tbe  outlet  to  the  main  channel  of  communication  to  this  vast  re<^ion 
must  have  caused  continual  conflict  of  interest,  and  endangered"  the 
preservation  of  friendly  relations  between  the  parties  concerned 
Ii.xperience  had  shown  that  the  binding  force  of  treaties  was  insuffi! 
cient  to  secure  our  citizens  in  their  stipulated  rights,  while  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  was  commanded  by  the  agents  of  European  powers 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  349 


CHAPTEEI.    ■ 

AJfERICAN  FLEET  IN  THE  MEDITERR  ANE  A  N.— EX  PEDITION  OP 

EATON  AND  HAMET  AOAINST  TRIPOLI. — TREATY  CONCLUDED 

—JEFFERSON'S  RKELBCTION,— BURR'S  DUEL  WITH  HAM- 

ILTGNiHIS  WESTERN  ENTERPRISE:  HIS  TRIAL. 

The  most  interesting  events,  connected  with  foreign  affairs,  during 
the  first  term  of  JefTeraon's  presidency,  are  those  relating  to  difficul- 
ties still  existing  with  the  Barbary  states.  That  the  maritime  nations 
of  Europe,  and  the  United  States  in  pursuance  of  their  example, 
should  have  so  long  submitted  to  the  degradation  of  purchasing 
peace  from  the  piratical  barbarians  of  northern  Africa,  seems  utterly 
unaccountable,  particularly  as  such  concessions  only  aggravated  their 
insolence,  and  encouraged  them,  from  time  to  time,  to  increase  their 
demands. 

An  American  frigate,  commanded  by  Bainbridge,  in  the  autumn 
of  the  year  1800,  was  compelled  by  the  Dey  of  Algiers  to  serve  as 
a  transport  for  the  transmission  of  presents,  &c.,  to  Constantinople; 
the  remonstrances  of  the  captain  were  met  by  the  most  arrogant  and 
insolent  expressions  of  superiority. 

The  state  of  Tripoli,  in  the  year  following  this  event,  commenced 
opeti  hostilities  against  American  commerce — the  reigning  prince 
having  become  dissatisfied  with  the  terms  upon  which  his  favour 
had  been  bought.  In  the  summer  of  1802  a  squadron  under  com- 
mand of  Commodore  Morris  was  dispatched  against  the  belligerent 
nation.  A  partial  blockade  and  some  unimportant  captures  were 
the  only  advantages  gained  during  this  season. 

During  the  summer  of  the  following  year  a  larger  naval  force 
under  Commodore  Preble  arrived  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  blockade  the  harbour  of  Tripoli.  The  frigate  Philadelphia, 
commanded  by  Bainbridge,  arrived  first  at  the  station.  Unfortu- 
nately, while  in  pursuit  of  a  Tripolitan  vessel,  she  struck  upon  a  rock. 
Vain  efforts  were  made  to  lighten  and  heave  her  off,  during  which 
operation  she  was  surrounded  by  gun-boats  of  the  enemy.  The 
frigate  heeled  so  far  that  her  guns  were  useless,  and  she  became  a 
prize  to  the  Tripolitans.    They  got  her  off  safely,  and  took  her  into 


850 


Till:   I'EOl'LE'B  BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


tho  Imrhonr,  mivking  prisoners  of  all  on  hoard.     The  ofTiconi  alone 
were  cxonipted  from  a  condition  of  aluvery. 

This  capture  gave  occaaion  for  a  brilliant  exploit.  Lieutcnnnt 
Decatur,  with  a  small  vessel  recently  taken  from  tho  enemy,  and 
manned  by  volunteers  from  tho  American  frigate  KntorpriHo,  then 
lying  at  Syracuse,  undertook  to  destroy  tho  rinladclphia.  On  tho 
night  of  February  16th,  1804,  the  Tripolitan  crew  on  board  tlio 
frigate  were  hailed  in  their  own  language  from  a  small  craft,  appar- 
ently of  their  nation,  whose  approach  was  regarded  without  suspicion. 
Under  the  excuse  that  she  had  lost  her  anchors,  the  stranger  was 
permitted  to  come  alongside  and  make  fast  to  the  ship.  Iler  true 
character  was  immediately  ascertained:  tho  Americans,  rusliin"  on 
board,  in  the  confusion  attendant  upon  the  first  alarm,  drove  the  crew 
overboard,  fired  the  vessel,  and  effected  a  safe  retreat. 

An  achievement  of  a  still  more  remarkable  and  romantic  rliarnctor 
was  accomplished  in  the  following  year  by  William  Eaton,  Consul 
for  the  United  States  at  Tunis.  Jessuf,  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  was 
a  younger  brother;  he  had  driven  Ilamct,  the  rightful  incumbent  of 
the  throne,  into  exile;  and  with  the  latter,  Eaton,  by  authority  from 
the  United  States,  entered  into  correspondence  for  the  purpose  of 
planning  a  land  expedition  from  Egypt  into  Tripoli,  and  expcllin" 
the  usurper. 

A  little  band  of  Arabs,  Tripolitan  refugees  of  Eamet's  party,  and 
Christian  adventurers,  numbering  in  all  only  about  four  hundred 
men,  set  out  from  tlie  vicinity  of  Alexandria,  early  in  the  spring  of 
1805.  The  passage  of  the  intervening  desert  was  not  completed 
until  the  latter  part  of  April,  the  march  bping  attended  with  extreme 
suffering  and  destitution.  The  invaders  arriving  at  Derne,  with  the 
cooperation  of  American  vessels  lying  in  the  harbour,  took  forcible 
possession  of  the  town,  and  held  it  against  the  main  Tripolitan  force 
by  which  they  were  attacked  a  fortnight  later. 

While  thus  in  the  full  tide  of  success,  the  hopes  of  Hamet  and  his 
enterprising  ally  were  crushed  by  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  between 
the  United  States  and  Tripoli,  by  which  Jessuf  was  leflin  undisturbed 
possession  of  his  sovereignty.  A  large  v  m  ^v.^8  raid  for  the  ransom 
of  captives  remairing  in  the  power  of  the  bashav,-,  afler  the  f>cr  >ni- 
plishment  of  an  equal  exchange  for  •  -.1.=^  lers  taken  by  the 
Americans. 

Prior  to  the  conclusion  of  these  events,  a  new  presidential  election 
in  the  United  States,  had  resulted  in  Jefferson's  continuance  in  office 


I 


'/•  HUM  AS    J  E  F  F  E  It  S  O  \, 

TIIIUI)   PHESIUKNT  Of^  TIIK    UMTEI)  STATKS 

^""''prv.r^?   ^^    «HADWELL.    ALBEMARLE    COUNTS     V."-     FI  FPTl^n 

PKKSIDENT  ,K    1801.   BY  A  MAJORITY    OK  1,   SERVED  8  YElHr 

DIED  JULY  4    1820 


foE  a  seconc 

president  ir 

raged  agair 

against  him 

sought  a  q\ 

duel.     Ham 

cumstanoe  t 

party,  with 

faith,  arouse 

the  state.     I 

tion  thencefc 

a  little  antici 

In  conceri 

property,  mI 

river  near  ] 

schemes  for  j 

ment  of  a  s( 

Spanish  prov 

men  who  wer 

by  mysteriou, 

nite  hopes,  ai 

very  variant  c 

feverish  antici 

about  to  take 

Being  a  mai 

address,  he  ac 

familiar  interc 

own  views,  he 

Perhaps  no  po 

as  the  one  of  v 

becoming  mor 

AVhen  Burr 

of  procuring  e 

iaiia,  to  which 

1806,  with  abo 

in  the  dark  as 

as  the  public  al 

covered  flat-bo 

and  his  projects 

more  or  less  inl 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


851 


cumstance  that  Burr  w.i«  th^  „  ''•     ^'^^  ^ir- 

P»r.y,  with  a  ge„    a  ZZ^Ln'ST''  "'  "■="  "'  "'°  "''""""g-K 

L.h  aroused  LrpUl7„r°L '777"''  """S"'^  """•  ^""^ 
tie  state.    Politieairdea,,  "„  fl,    r^    J",,  '  ""'  "^''^""^  '"  '=™ 

a  m.ie  a„tieip.ti„,  .,e  ar„'feTei:rr;  err:  """'■■ 

Spanish  nrovfnce  of  Mev™,  n'  ""  ?.*"•  ""  '°™»'<>°  »f  *e 
men  who  were  8upp„rdrb;dfT.T°  '""'™=»"  "i*  leading 
by  mysterioJ  letterreal!?,W     .         "^  '""■"^  "'"'  ••«l'"ini»tratio„: 

Zirrt*4itro'fs::f;-^.T"'^'"-^'^^^^^^^ 

abont  to  take  pC  ^     ^    "'  ■"•'<'"=™'''ate  politieal  ehange, 

IB  the  one  of  which  we  ,r„  JJf-  """Tf  '"*  "mversal  attention, 

in  the  dark  as  to  the  truedosHL^  i^  '  P'°^'^^^  ''^^  "^"^^ 

cohered  MoT  m        ^  .  *'^'  °^^'^  '"  '"^  "^'"b^r  of      I 

\oL.    IV.— 51  •^' 


352 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


At  Natchez,  Burr  submitted  to  the  requisitions  of  the  territorial 
civil  authorities,  and  the  charges  against  him  were  investigated 
by  the  intervention  of  a  grand  jury  at  Washington,  the  capital  of 
the  Mississippi  territory.  Nothing  could  be  established  by  any 
direct  evidence,  and  he  was  acquitted.  Meanwhile,  General  Wil- 
kinson, the  military  commander  at  New  Orleans,  to  whom  Burr  had 
previously  made  many  overtures,  had  arbitrarily  arrested  several 
of  the  agents  commissioned  by  the  latter,  and  was  enforcing  a 
species  of  martial  law,  in  anticipation  of  the  expected  invasion  or 
revolution. 

Further  conduct  of  the  expedition  was  unsafe,  and  Burr,  dis- 
missing his.  followers,  attempted  to  make  his  escape  into  Florida. 
He  was  arrested  near  the  Tombigbee  river,  and  taken  prisoner  to 
Eichmond,  where  he  v/aa  bailed,  upon  the  charge  of  violating  the 
neutrality  law,  by  enlisting  forces  to  invade  a  peaceful  nation.  He 
was  subsequently  indicted  by  a  grand  jury  for  high  treason  in  levy- 
ing war  against  the  United  States.  The  trial,  after  much  delay  in 
vexatious  preliminaries,  took  place  in  August,  1807,  Chief-Justice 
Marshall  presiding.  Sufficient  evidence  could  not  be  obtained  to 
sustain  the  charge,  and  a  verdict  of  acquittal  followed.  The  same 
result  attended  the  trial  upon  the  charge  of  a  violation  of  the  neu- 
trality act. 

All  concerned  were  held  amenable  to  the  provisions  of  the  latter 
law  in  any  district  where  an  overt  act,  falling  within  its  prohibi- 
tions, should  have  been  committed.  Held  to  bail  in  Ohio,  upon  the 
same  accusation.  Burr  and  Blennerhasset  both  forfeited  their  honds. 

The  former  soon  after  sailed  for  Europe,  and  passed  many  years 
in  fruitless  endeavours  to  carry  out  schemes  of  personal  aggrandize- 
ment in  France  and  England.  He  returned  to  spend  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  in  the  obscure  practice  of  law  in  his  own  state. 


THE   UNITED   STATES.  ggg 


CHAPTER  XL 

'jrVr  ""•^'^^SS^O^S— FAIUJRE  OF  NEGOTIATION  -ATTACK 

ON  THE   FRIGATE.  CHE8A  PE  A  KE.-EMB  ARGO.-NON-INer 

•    C    FE8E   ACT.-ABOLITION  OF   THE  SLAVE-TRADE-™ 

R    OOLPH.-^EST   PLORIDA.-CONCESSIONS  OF   NAPO 

LEON.  — BRITISH    CRUISERS..    THE    LITTLE   BELT  — 

TECITMSEH..   ELSKWATAWA:   BATTLE   OF   TIPPECANOE 

—EAST    FLORIDA.  — DECLARATION    OP    WAR.    " 

i^iuZZZ'f^r  '"'^V""  ''  ''^^"^^"'^  administration,  the 
disturbed  state  of  afifairs  m  Europe  was  disastrously  felt  in  America- 
m  curiymg  out  schemes  of  mutual  aggression,  the  two  great  bdWer' 

t  aUalr'  T''  "'"'^T  °'  '^'  ^'^^*«  anf  intereslfof 
n  utral  nations.     "It  was  in  vam  that  the  government  of  the  United 

St  tes  expostulated  with  them.    To  England  it  denied  having  sub 

muted  to  the  decrees  of  the  French  ruler;  and  to  the  late  ft  rep- 

resented  the  indefeasible  right,  of  neutrals.     'Join  with  me  fn 

LT:?  alllbiects^Vd"""  '  "^^  *'^  '^^'^  °^  ^°-P-*^'  -^- 
blind  to  all  Ob  ects  and  reasons,  except  that  of  humbling  his  arch- 

nem^,.    America  was  in  consequence,  left  to  choose  which  o^  the 

elhgerente  she  should  take  for  foes,  since  both  at  once  might  prove 

0  powerful  for  her,  and  neutrality,  persevered  in,  only  ex^o  ed  he 
els  to  capture,  without  retaliation_to  the  disadvantages,  in  fact 

1  on  Z  ^  '"''''''"  '^'''  '*''"^^'  ^^"^«  «^«^  ^^«  Predom- 
inant on  Its  own  element,  came  to  vent  their  blows  on  America"^ 

retSn  for  .  '^-^^  ^''''''  ^^^^^^^b^^'  1806,  the  emperor,  in 
retaliation  for  a  similar  assumption  in  respect  to  France  had 
pronounced  Great  Britain  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade,  and  the  gov 
niment  ot  the  latter  had  extended  her  former  dec  ee  to  a7the 
l^endencies  a.d  allies  of  France,  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States  was,  in  effect,  annihilated.  There  were  not,  however  want 
uig  causes  for  a  strong  discrimination,  i*  the  minds  of  the  Cr  - 
cans,  between  the  spirit  and  motives  which  actuated  the  feveral 
aggressmg  nations.  several 

The  conduct  of  the  naval  officers  in  the  British  service,  generally 
♦  Lardner's  Cabinet  Cyclopedia. 


354 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF    1II8T0KY. 


insolent  and  overLearing  towards  the  American  marine,  had  been 
growing  more  and  more  intolerable.  The  impressment  of  seamen 
from  United  States'  merchant  vessels  continued  and  increased,  not- 
withstanding the  remonstrances  of  government,  and  a  representa- 
tion of  the  fact,  that  many  American  citizens  were  thus  enslaved  for 
foreign  service. 

In  hopes  to  effect  some  modification  in  the  former  treaty,  by 
■which  these  illegal  seizures  might  be  checked,  and  the  commerce  of 
America  he  freed  from  the  more  oppressive  restrictions,  Messrs, 
Monroe  and  Pinckney  were  commissioned  as  ambassadors  to  Eng- 
land in  1806.  They  arranged  a  treaty  accordingly,  but,  as  nothing 
was  yielded  by  the  British  government  respecting  the  more  import- 
ant points  of  controversy,  the  president,  without  communicating  with 
the  senate,  refused  to  ratify. 

While  attempts  at  negotiation  failed,  the  course  pursued  by  the 
English  cruisers,  in  carrying  out  their  instructions  to  watch  the 
American  coast,  assumed  an  appearance  more  than  ever  offensive. 
A  direct  attack  upon  a  national  vessel,  finally  called  for  some  deci- 
sive action.  The  Chesapeake,  an  American  frigate,  was  dispatched 
in  the  month  of  June,  1807,  to  the  Mediterranean.  Just  without 
the  capes  of  the  Chesapeake,  she  was  hailed  by  the  Leopard,  an 
English  man-of-war.  Upon  heaving  to,  a  boat  soon  came  along- 
side, and  a  message  was  delivered  from  the  captain  of  the  Leopard, 
demanding  permission  to  search  for  certain  deserters,  known  or  sus- 
pected to  be  on  board  the  American  vessel.  Specific  orders  to  this 
effect  had  been  given  by  the  British  Admiral  Berkeley. 

The  demand  not  being  complied  with,  the  Leopard,  having  taken 
a  favourable  position,  without  further  parley,  first  fired  two  succes- 
sive single  shots,  the  first,  across  the  bows  of  the  Chesapeake,  and 
then  poured  in  several  broadsides,  by  which  three  men  were  killed, 
a  number  wounded,  and  much  damage  was  done  to  the  vessel.  The 
commander,  Barron,  his  ship  not  being  ready  for  action,  was  unable 
to  resist,  and  therefore  struck  his  flag.  Several  officers  from  the 
Leopard  then  came  on  bi)ard;  the  crew  of  the  Chesapeake  were 
examined,  and  four  were  taken  away  prisoners,  as  deserters  from 
the  British  service.  One  of  them  was  afterwards  hanged  for  de- 
sertion; the  three  others  (coloured  men)  proved  to  be  American 
citizens.     Tlic  Cliesapeake  immediately  returned  to  Norfolk. 

President  Jcfierson  j)roniptly  issu'^d  a  proclamation,  ordering  all 
British  armed  vessels  to  leave  the  waters  of  the  Ignited  States,  and 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


855 


the  BntKsh  government  for  redress,  «nd  for  future  guarantee  tha^ 
American  vessels  should  be  no  longer  searched  fof  purposes  of 
impressment.     The  attack  on  the  Chesapeake-being  t'otllvnex 
cusable    although  similar  acts  had  been  previously  fomm  tied   on 
several  occasions,  by  British  vessels-was' at  once'^disavred  and 
fa  1  reparation  was  tendered ;  but  upon  the  other  point,  no  concision 
whatever  was  made.    New  and  more  stringent  Ler   instead  wire 
issued  for  the  siezure  of  British  mariners  in  foreign  servie      anlTa 
case  such  should  be  known  to  be  on  board  national  veskTof  a 
tTeTr!;iraXi::r'^"^  ^'-  ^-"  *°  -^^  -P-  ^^ereof  to^ 
Congress  wa^  called  together  at  an  earlier  day  than  the  regular 
commencement  of  the  session,  and,  after  much  diLssion  a  g!ne  J 
embargo  was  laid  (December,  1807),  to  continue  indefinitely   by 
which  American  vessels  were  prohibited  from  leaving  port     The 
enforcement  of  this  system,  however  necessary,  occlioned  great 
commercial  distress,  and  gave  much  dissatisfactio";;  in  New  Engfand 
rhe  embargo  was,  to  a  certain  extent,  evaded  by  the  more  adven 
turous;  but  the  retaliatory  decrees  of  France  and  England  had  been 
extended  to  such  an  extreme  of  exclusion,  that  no^essel  trad'g 
to  Europe  or  the  We.i  Indies  could  be  safe  from  seizure  ^ 

J  he  prospect  of  an  amicable  arrangement  appeared  less  than  ever 
Throughout  the  year  1808,  nothing  was  heard  but  complaTn^of 
he  oppressive  embargo.     At  the  winter  session  of  congress,  in 
808-9,  the  whole  subject  was  debated,  and,  in  place  of  the  embargo 
a  prohibition  of  intercourse  with  France  and  England  was  concluded 
upon-trade  with  other  countries  of  Europe  being  left  olirlto 
vis,on  was  also  appended,  giving  the  president  power  to  suspend 
this  restriction  as  to  either  nation  which  should  conform  to  tSe 
requisitions  of  the  United  States,  by  a  withdrawal  of  the  obn  xiou 
edicts  or  orders  in   council.     This  change  was   accomplished  Z 
before  the  close  of  Jefferson's  administration.     In  accordance  ifth 
he  example  of  Washington,  ho  had  declined  being  a  candidlfor 
a  third   presidential  term.     The  republican  party,  retaining  their 
ascendancy,  elected  James  Madison,  late  secretary  of  state,  V  the 
office  of  president:  Clinton  was  again  chosen  vice-president 

r en  e,  ,,as  the  passage,  by  congress,  of  an  act  prohibiting  the  intro- 
auction  of  slaves  after  the  1st  of  January,  1808-the  constitutional 


856 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK    OF    IIISTOEY. 


s: 


limit  within  which  no  restraining  law  could  be  enacted,  upon  this 
subject,  Other  than  the  imposition  of  a  specifiod  duty  upon  all  im- 
ported. Severe  penalties  were  affixed  to  the  direct  importation  of 
slaves,  attaching,  although  in  less  degree,  to  the  buyer  who  should 
be  cognizant  of  the  illegal  introduction ;  and  the  transportation  of 
slaves  by  sea  from  one  port  to  another  in  the  United  States,  was 
regulated  and  restrained.  Slaves  thenceforth  imported,  were  to  be 
seized,  and  to  "remain  subject  to  any  regulation  or  disposal,  not 
contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  which  might  be  made  by  ths 
respective  states  and  territories." 

In  the  debate  upon  this  subject,  a  prominent  part  was  taken,  in 
behalf  of  the  .slave-holding  interest,  by  John  Randolph,  a  young 
member  from  Virginia,  whose  remarkable  talents  and  brilliant  ora- 
tory might  have  given  him  a  position  of  great  eminence,  but  for  a 
singular  vein  of  misanthropic  eccentricity  which  pervaded  his  wliolo 
character,  and  for  an  unparalleled  degree  of  habitual  insolence  and 
assumption.  Belonging  originally  to  the  republican  party,  he  was 
of  the  number  of  those  who  seceded  from  the  principles  adopted  by 
the  administration,  and  during  Jefferson's  closing  term,  headed  a 
powerful  opposition  to  the  measures  adopted  in  retaliation  for  Brit- 
ish aggression. 

The  first  communications  opened  with  Great  Britain,  after  Madi- 
son's inauguration,  gave  promise  of  a  speedy  settlement  of  difficulties. 
Mr.  Erskiue,  the  British  minister,  over-stepping  the  limits  of  his 
instructions  from  Secretary  Canning,  stipulated  on  behalf  of  liis 
government,  that  the  odious  commercial  orders  in  council  should 
be  withdrawn,  as  to  United  States' vessels,  upon  revocation  of  the 
non-intercourse  act.  The  president,  in  conformity  with  the  powers 
expressly  conferi'ed  upon  him,  suspended  the  act  accordingly. 

Several  preliminary  conditions,  upon  which  he  had  received  spe- 
cial instructions,  were  entirely  neglected  by  Erskine  in  this  nego- 
tiation. The  most  important  of  these  related  to  a  matter  long  in 
dispute,  viz:  whether,  in  time  of  war,  a  neutral  could  carry  on  a 
trade  with  one  of  the  belligerent  parties,  of  a  character  prohibited 
by  such  nation  in  time  of  peace. 

Erskine's  stipulations  were,  therefore,  disavowed,  and  non-inter- 
course was  reestablished.  Provisions  were  made  by  the  British 
government  in  favour  of  such  vessels  as  might  have  •  availed  them- 
selves of  the  temporary  removal  of  restrictions.  Mutual  recrimina- 
tions in  respect  to  this  affair,  aggravated  the  hostile  dispositions  of 


THE  UNITED   STATES. 


-      857 


United  States  had  been  cognizant  of  the  true  nature  of  the  instruc- 
tions given  to  the  British  ambassador,  while,  on  the  other  LrLl 
of  the  ministry  t,,  ratify  the  arrangement  concluded,  was  looked 

Mr  Erskine,  upon  a  renewal  of  negotiation,  conducted  the  corres- 
pondence in  a  manner  so  offensive,  that  his  recall  was  demrded 
and  all  diplomatic  intercourse,  for  the  time,  was  suspended  ' 

During  the  autumn  of  1810,  the  settlers  in  that  portion  of  West 
Florida  bordering  on  the   Mississippi,  following  the  example  of 

thoSTtt.T-f '''""''"*  *"  ''^'^  ^°^^"^*  '^'  Spanish  au- 
thorities.    Thi    district  was  soon  after  occupied   by  the  United 

States,  under  claim  of  title,  by  virtue  of  former  treaties  of  tra^ 
Upon  the  expiration  of  the  non-intercourse  act,  in  1810,  propositiona 
were  made  by  the  United  States  to  France  Ld  Eng  fndT  re 
moval  of  the  onerous  restrictions  upon  trade.  To  Either  nation 
which  should  comply  with  this  requisition,  the  inducement  of  xdu- 
sive  commercial  intercourse  was  held  out.  Napoleon,  willing  to 
yield  a  point  in  his  rigid  continental  system,  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  friendship  of  the  United  Stated,  and-a  ma  Estill 
more  to  his  taste-of  involving  them  in  war  with  EngTand  gave 
notice,  through  his  ministers,  that  American  vessels  should  be  ^le 
from  the  operation  of  the  sweeping  decrees  of  Beriin  and  Milan 

Commerce  was  at  once  opened  with  France;  but  the  British  gov- 
ernment, affecting  to  consider  the  suspension  of  the  French  decrees 
as  irregular,  temporary,  and  illusive,  declined  yielding  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  United  States.  On  the  contrary,  national  jealousy 
being  aroused  by  the  prospect  of  an  advantageous  trade  between 
this  country  and  France,  renewed  vigilance  was  exercised,  and  a 
more  rigorous  search  instituted  by  the  numerous  British  cruisers  on 
the  American  coast. 

The  sloop-of-war  Little  Belt,  commanded  by  Captain  Bingham 
while  engaged  in  this  service,  fell  in  with  the  American  frigate  Pres- 
ident, under  Commodore  Rodgers.  The  English  vessel  at  first  bore 
down  upon  the  American,  until  discovering  that  the  latter  was  of 
greater  force,  and  that  her  signals  were  not  answered,  she  stood 
away  Pursued  by  the  President,  she  hove  to,  and  both  vessels 
hailed,  as  appears,  nearly  simultaneously.  Neither  replied  except 
by  a  second  hail.    Upon  this  some  shots  were  fired-accounts  bciu- 


868 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  IIISTOBY. 


contradictory  as  to  which  vessel  commenced— soon  succeeded  by  a 
general  cannonade  on  either  side,  in  which  the  Little  Bolt  was  nearly 
disabled,  and  lost  more  than  thirty  of  her  crew  in  killed  and  wounded 
Such  discrepancy  prevails  in  the  accounts  given  of  this  transaction 
that  we  are  somewhat  at  a  loss  in  forming  conclusions  respectinJ 
its  merits.  ° 

At  a  special  session  of  congress,  in  the  autumn  of  1811,  the  presi 
dent  set  forth,  in  a  message  to  that  body,  the  futility  of  all  attempts 
at  negotiation  with  Great  Britain,  the  enormous  injury  to  American 
commerce  effected  by  her  exclusive  system,  the  vast  number  of  ves- 
sels in  the  United  States'  merchant  service  which  had  fallen  a  prey  to 
her  cruisers,  and  the  generally  aggressive  and  ungenerous  policy 
pursued  by  her  government.  "With  this  evidence,"  proceeded  the 
address,  "of  hostile  inflexibility,  in  trampling  upon  rights  which  no 
independent  nation  can  relinquish,  congress  will  feel  the  duty  of 
putting  the  United  States  into  an  armour  and  an  attitude  de- 
manded by  the  crisis,  and  corresponding  with  the  national  spirit 
and  expectations." 

This  call  waa  responded  to,  by  a  decided  majority,  in  a  similar 
spirit.  Appropriations  were  made,  and  loans  authorized,  for  the 
enlargement  of  the  army,  for  fortifications,  and  the  accumulation  of 
military  stores.  The  navy  was  ordered  to  be  increased,  and  pro- 
visions were  made  for  organizing  a  militia  force.  The  existence  of 
serious  disturbances  at  the  north-west,  attribul^ed,  in  some  measure, 
to  British  influence  over  the  Indian  tribes,  added  to  the  hostile  feel- 
ing entertained  towards  Great  Britain. 

•  A  new  confederacy  had  been  long  forming  in  that  quarter, 
under  the  direction,  and  through  the  intrigues  of  the  celebrated 
Tecumseh  and  his  brother  Elskwatawa,  or  the  Prophet.  The 
former,  at  this  period,  was  engaged  in  gaining  over  the  tribes  of  the 
southern  states  to  unite  in  a  magnificent  enterprise  for  the  recovery 
of  the  entire  valley  of  the  Mississippi  from  the  whites.  The  pro- 
phet was  established  on  the  Tippecanoe,  a  tributary  of  the  Wa- 
bash, where  a  horde  of  his  followers  encamped  about  him,  and  kept 
the  country  in  terror  by  their  depredations. 

To  check  these  ravages,  Governor  Harrison,  with  a  force  of  about 
nine  hundred  men,  regulars,  militia,  and  volunteers,  marched  up 
the  Wabash  from  Fort  Harrison,  at  the  close  of  October  (1811) 
He  encamped  on  the  5th  of  November,  within  nine  miles  of  the 
prophet's  town,  and  attempted  to  negotiate  with  the  Indian  chief. 


JAM£S    MADISON, 

FOURTH   PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

BORN  IN  17ia,  NEAR  PORT  ROYAL,  Va  ;    PKKSIDKNT  IN   IBuO  ;    SERVED 
8  YEARS  ;    UIKD  JUNE  L'S.  18'M. 


THK    UNITEU   STATES. 


S59 


The  latter  proposed  a  truce,  for  the  puri.osc  of  a  eonferencc  to  take 
place  on  the  day  following.  This  pucillc  overture  was  merely  in- 
tended to  disarm  suspieion.  On  the  fbllowing  morning,  a  little 
l.d..re  duy-break-the  time  always  seleetcd  by  the  Indiunn,  for  a 
Hurj,n..e-the  whole  foree  under  c^^mmand  of  the  prophet,  fell  upon 
the  American  encampment. 

Fortunately,  due  precautions  had  been  taken  for  a  timely  alarm 

and  lor  the  preservation  of  order  in  case  of  a  night  attack.    Althou-rh 

tl.o  Indians  Ibught  with  astonishing  fury  and  determination,  they 

were  finally  driven  off  and  dispersed,  not  without  a  loss,  on  the 

part  ot  the  whites,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  killed  and  wounded. 

1  ho  American  troops  immediately  proceeded  to  the  Indian  settlement 
and  accomplished  its  entire  destruction.  ' 

Certain  disclosures,  communicated  to  congress  by  a  message  of  the 
president,  in  March,  1812,  relative  to  the  secret  agency  of  one  John 
Homy,  who,  several  years  previous,  had  been  commissioned  by  the 
governor  of  Canada  to  attempt  negotiation  with  the  New  England 
federalists,  excited  great  indignation  among  the  war  party.  It  would 
u])pear  that  for  a  time  undue  importance  was  attached  to  this  affair 
The  president  paid  a  large  sum  of  money  from  the  secret  service  fund" 
to  secure  the  correspondence  between  Henry  and  his  employer.  The 
principal  matter  of  the  communications  related  to  the  extent  to  which 
the  anti-war  party  might  be  willing  to  push  their  opposition,  and  the 
possibility  or  probability  of  a  secession  from  the  Union  by  the  com- 
mercial states  of  the  north,  in  the  event  of  their  political  defeat. 

In  the  month  of  April,  an  important  accession  to  the  southern  in- 
terest resulted  from  the  admission  of  the  new  state  of  Louisiana 
including  that  portion  of  West  Florida  already  occupied  by  the 
United  States.  The  Spanish  possessions  in  East  Florida  were  en- 
dangered, at  the  same  period,  by  an  outbreak  encouraged  and  pro- 
moted by  the  American  general,  Matthews.  A  strong  party  in 
congress— even  a  majority  in  the  house— was  in  favour  of  taking 
forcible  possession  of  this  territory;  but  a  bill  for  that  purpose  was 
lost  in  the  senate. 

A  prospect  of  speedy  hostilities  with  America,  gave  rise  to  a  stron.^ 
oppositum  in  the  British  parliament,  to  the  measures  of  government'^ 
and  strenuous  exertions  were  made  to  effect  a  compliance  with  the 
principal  requisitions  o.f  the  United  States.  These  movements  on 
the  part  of  the  friends  of  peace  and  of  the  rights  of  neutrals,  it  has 
been  said,  might  have  terminated  in  such  concession  ua  would  have 


|3tl 


880 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HIBTOUY. 


Biitiadcd  tho  latter,  if  patience  had  boon  "  little  farther  extemlcd. 
At  the  close  of  May,  1812,  recent  intelligence  having  been  received 
from  England,  and  no  prospect  appearing  of  a  diHposition  on  the  part 
of  government  to  yield  the  questions  in  dispute,  President  MadlMon 
sent  in  a  messago  recommending  immediate  declaration  of  war. 

The  senate  promptly  concurred  with  tho  recommendation ;  in  tho 
house,  tho  question,  after  about  n  fortnight's  consideration,  rcHultoil 
in  the  same  conclusion.  The  debate  was  conducted  with  closed 
door.H.  On  tho  18th  of  June,  war  wa.s  formally  declared  with  Great 
Britain.  To  this  act  most  strenuous  opposition  was  made  by  the 
federal  party.  In  those  portions  of  the  United  States  most  depend- 
ant upon  commerce,  a  violent  outcry  was  raised  against  a  measure, 
which,  altliough  specially  called  for  by  foreign  aggressions  upon 
their  rights  and  interest,  threatened  to  increase  their  pr^bsent  dilTi- 
cultics,  while  it  imposed  upon  the  country  at  large  an  enormous 
burden  of  additional  expense. 


RIOTS  AT  BALTIMORE.  —  HULI/S  INVASION  OF   CANADA. — RE- 
PEAL OF  THE  ORDERS  IN  COUNCIL:  IMPRESSMENT. — NAVAL 
OPERATIONS. — MADISON'S  RK  ELECTION. — NORTH-WEST- 
ERN  CAMPAION:    DEFEAT   OP    WINCHESTER. — ATTACK 
ON    YORK.  —  THE   BRITISH   ON   LAKE   CiiAMPLAIN. 


While  expressions  of  indignation  and  regret  were  every  whore 
heard  throughout  those  portions  of  le  country  where  the  war  was 
unpopular,  and  signs  of  public  mourning  appeared  in  the  flags  of  a 
useless  shipping  hoisted  at  half-mast,  the  war-party  in  other  dLstriets 
exhibited  still  more  violent  feeling.  At  Baltimore,  the  most  disgrace- 
ful scenes  of  brutal  outrage  occurred,  in  connection  with  the  su{)pres- 
sion  by  a  mob  of  a  federal  news-paper,  which  persisted  in  opposing 
popular  opinion.  The  editor,  Hanson,  with  a  number  of  friends,  in 
defence  of  his  house,  attacked  by  an  infuriate  populace,  fired  upon 
the  assailants,  one  of  whom  was  killed. 

The  municipal  authorities  at  last  appeared,  with  an  armed  force, 
and,  to  appease  the  mob,  Hanson  and  his  companions  consented  to 


the;united  states. 


861 


bo  taken  o  pmon,  to  answer  to  any  charge  that  might  be  substan- 
tmto.1  agan.st  them.  The  following  night  the  jail  wan  broken  ^to 
and  a  number  of  those  prinonen.,  fulling  into  the  hands  of  he  rioters' 
were  most  barbarously  beaten,  wounded,  and  tormented  ol"; 
the  number,  General  Lingan.  an  old  revolitionary  LX'licc?  nde 
ho.r  hands ;  the  others  were  left  for  dead,  and  some  nev  r  reoovertd 
from  the  mjur.es  received.  The  perpetrators  of  this  oowa  dl y  ar  d 
villanous  outrage  received  no  punishment;  some  of  their  n  ost  n 

the  ransact.onwerotriedandacquittedbyajuryoftheneig  bo^^  W^ 
Upon  the  organization  of  the  new  armv  iL  ohi.P  J**"''""'^  '°'*^- 

bestowed  upon  General  Henry  DearZ  Tf  'm^':^L2:::ZZ 

of  the  revolution.    At  the  south,  Thomas  Pineknoy,  of  South  Carol  n  a 

was  created  major-general,  a,>d  invested  with  tl/ecluef  command  b 

that  quarter.     The  first  attention  of  the  government  was  dTrTred   o 

an  expechfon  mto  Canada,  where,  it  wa.  believed,  the  cM     L    .  ? 

he  mhahtants  towards  Great  Britain  would  render  it  easy  to  obL^L 

trol":"if  zr/uw '''' ''"'''-''  ^^  ''"^^^^^  -^-^^  ^^ 

west  on  the  12th  of  July,  crossmg  over  from  Detroit  to  Sandwich 
Phe  hrst  object  of  attack  was  the  British  fort  at  Maiden  near  the 

given  for  strengthl.n,  .  J.^t  71^^!  "^^^^^^^^  ^^ 
While  the  army,  remained  inactive,  about  the  middle  of  Julv  th« 
Amerjcun  fort  at  Michilimackinac  fell  inte  the  hTnds  of  the  en'^mv 
and,  shortly  after,  communication  by  the  land  route  with  01^"^' 
entirely  cut  oft"  by  a  party  of  Indian^  under  Teeursr^^C 
fore  recrossed  the  river,  with  his  entire  force,  and  occupied  I)  trj^^' 
General  Proctor,  zn  command  at  Maiden,  wa;  enabled  tecoon  n  e 
with  his  Indian  allies,  and  renewed  attempts  on  the  part  of  1 
Americans  to  force  a  passage  of  the  road,  only  resulted  in'he  vy  lo t 
Toward  the  middle  of  August,  General  Brock,  governor  7^ 
Canada,  having  hastened  to  the  scene  of  action,^lsl  d  co„,t^^^^^^^ 
nd  advanced  upon  Detroit  with  his  whole  arm;  of  Br  tishTnd  Jn' 
d.ans,  amounting,  in  all,  to  oyer  twelve  hundred  men      The  Amer" 
i..ns  occupying  a  defensible  position,  entertained  littl«  fears  of  bd" 
able  to  sustain  themselyes;  but  what  was  the  astonishment  and  in 
dignation  of  the  army  when  General  Hull,  as  the  enemy  rppoadied 
to  he  a.ssaul  t  entered  inte  a  parley,  and  arranged  terms  os^t 
All  the  regulars  and  volunteers  in  the  American  army  became    risi 


';-  H 


362 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HI8T0EY. 


oners  of  war,  the  militia  being  paroled,  and  the  whole  territory  of 
Michigan  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British. 

So  heavy  a  loss,  and  so  disgraceful  a  reverse,  at  this  first  opening 
of  the  campaign,  could  not  be  patiently  endured.  Every  species  of 
opi)robrium  was  heaped  upon  the  commanding  officer,  to  whose  in- 
decision or  weakness  the  failure  was  wholly  attributed.  Put  upon 
trial,  by  court  martial,  long  afterwards,  he  was  convicted  of  cow- 
ardice; but  his  character,  at  the  present  day,  stands  free  from  asper- 
sions thrown  out  in  the  heat  of  disappointment,  and  his  failings— 
principally  over-caution,  and  a  want  of  that  promptness  and  energy 
whiv.'h  are  so  necessary  in  a  military  leader — are  looked  upon  with 
greater  leniency. 

The  result  of  this  campaign,  unfortunately  for  the  American  inter- 
ests, was  to  give  facilities  for  an  easy  and  constant  communicatiou 
between  the  British  and  the  confederate  tribes  of  the  north-west, 
The  latter  were  never  more  dangerous  enemies  than  at  this  period, 
provided,  as  they  were,  with  arms  by  their  English  allies,  led  by  a 
chief  of  surpassing  abilities  as  a  military  leader,  and  excited  by  su- 
perstitious confidence  in  their  Prophet  Elskwatawa. 

Upon  a  change  of  the  British  ministry,  in  the  month  of  June,  of 
this  year,  a  repeal  of  the  orders  in  council  as  to  American  vessels 
was  brought  about,  and  it  was  trusted  that  negotiations  might  now 
be  opened  tor  a  peaceful  settlement  of  difficulties.  The  American 
government,  however,  declined  all  proposals  for  a  suspension  of 
hostilities,  not  based  upon  a  proposed  adjustment  of  other  claims 
againsj  England.  The  matter  of  the  right  of  impressment  was  as 
far  as  ever  from  settlement;  the  British  absolutely  refused  to  yield 
the  point;  and  the  grievance  complained  of  had  now  become  more 
than  ever  intolerable.  The  number  of  native  born  American  citizens 
rendering  compulsory  service  in  the  British  navy  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained, but  those  who  claimed  exemption  on  this  ground  numbered 
between  three  and  four  thousand.  The  great  majority  of  these  were 
doubtless  foreigners,  but  their  right  to  protection,  if  not  British  sub- 
jects, was  as  clear  as  in  the  case  of  native  or  naturalized  citizens. 

While  all  the  acts  of  the  American  government  continued  to 
breathe  a  warlike  spirit,  many  obstacles  were  experienced  in  the  prac- 
tical operations  of  the  campaign.  It  was  difficult  to  procure  recruits 
by  voluntary  enlistment,  and  in  the  raising  of  a  militia  force,  con- 
tinual opposition  was  met  by  state  claims  of  sovereignty.  By  a  sin- 
gular transmutation,  the  federalists  at  this  crisis  were  the  sticklers 


TJIE    UNITKD   STATES. 


363 


for  state  rights,  as  opposed  to  the  military  authority  of  the  president, 
and  the  acts  of  congress.  Several  states  refused  to  comply  with  the 
requisitions  of  government,  upon  the  ground  that  no  necessity  of  the 
kind  contemplated  by  the  act  respecting  draughts  of  militia,  could 
be  said  to  exist — that  there  was  no  call  to  "execute  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  suppress  insurrections,  or  repel  invasion."  Questions  respect- 
ing the  employment  of  the  militia  in  foreign  territory,  and  their  claim 
to  be  commanded  by  their  own  officers,  if  of  superior  rank  to  any 
regular  officer  present,  gave  rise  to  great  difficulty  and  dissension. 

At  the  west,  early  in  the  autumn,  a  force  of  about  ten  thousand 
men  was  collected  for  the  defence  of  the  frontier,  and  for  operations 
against  the  British  and  Indians,  Governor  Harrison  was  appointed 
to  the  chief  command.  Tiie  impracticable  nature  of  the  roads,  and 
the  difficulty  of  maintaining  an  army  in  the  wilderness,  impeded  the 
movement  of  any  large  body  of  troops,  and  nothing  was  effected, 
during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  further  than  the  destruction  of 
several  Indian  villages,  by  detached  parties. 

Upon  the  waters  which  separate  Canada  from  New  York,  a  still 
larger  force  than  that  under  Harrison  was  stationed  at  various  points 
from  Niagara  to  Lake  Champlain.  On  the  13th  of  October,  a  party 
of  IcHS  than  three  hundred  men,  led  by  Ccjlonel  Van  Rensselaer, 
crossed  Niagara  river  and  stormed  the  British  fort  at  Queenstown. 
They  were  to  have  been  supported  by  a  large  force,  sufficient  to 
maintain  possession,  and  resist  any  reinforcements  that  could  be 
brought  up  by  the  enemy,  but  during  the  embarkation,  the  principal 
portion  of  the  militia,  at  first  loud  in  protestations  of  eagerness  to 
invade  the  enemy's  territory,  taken  with  a  panic,  refused  to  cross. 
In  an  attempt  at  recovering  the  fort,  the  brave  General  Brock  fell, 
while  leading  his  men  to  the  assault. 

Notwithstanding  their  success  at  the  first  onset,  the  event  proved 
disastrous  to  the  Americans.  A  strong  reinforcement  under  General 
Sheafe  came  to  the  assistance  of  the  enemy,  and  the  whole  invading 
division,  amounting— with  those  brought  across  during  the  contest— to 
more  than  a  thousand  men,  thrown  into  confusion,  and  cut  off  from  re- 
treat, was  forced  to  surrender.  Nothing  further,  of  any  importance, 
was  accomphshed  upon  the  frontier,  during  the  remainder  of  the  year. 
The  flaming  proclamation  of  General  Smyth,  and  the  patriotic  ardour 
expressed  by  the  militia  and  volunteers  who  composed  the  principal 
portion  of  the  army  of  the  north,  alike  ended  in  smoke.  While  the 
soldiers  accused  their  commanders  of  a  lack  of  energy,  and  inveighed 


m  :-f 


I— 


864 


TIIK  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


against  vexations  delays  and  general  mismanagement,  the  latter  liaJ 
abundant  ground  of  complaint  in  the  turbulence  and  insubordination 
of  the  new  recruits. 

Experience  having  proved  the  necessity  of  establishing  a  marine 
forco  on  the  lakes,  in  order  to  effect  any  thing  in  Canada,  a  movement 
for  this  purpose  was  commenced  in  the  month  of  September  pre- 
vious,  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  under  direction  of  Captain  Chaunccy. 
At  this  port,  situated  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  Lake  Ontario,  tho 
keel  of  a  ship  was  laid,  and  a  number  of  trading  schooners  wero 
purchased  and  armed.  A  small  sloop  of  war,  named  the  Oneida 
had  been  previously  fitted  out,  and  was  also  under  Chaunccy 's  com- 
mand. With  this  little  fleet,  some  bold  excursions  were  made  on  the 
lake,  a  ]?ritish  armed  vessel  was  driven  into  Kingston  harbour,  and 
several  small  prizes  were  taken.  The  new  ship,  of  twenty'-four 
guns,  was  completed  in  November,  and  was  called  the  Madison. 

Lieutenant  Elliot,  furnished  by  Chaunccy  with  a  detachment  of 
seamen,  in  the  month  of  October,  succeeded  in  capturing  two  small 
armed  vessels  belonging  to  the  enemy,  and  lying  in  Niagara  river. 
He  also  commenced  preparations  for  future  operations  on  Lake  Erie 
by  collecting  trading  vessels  at  Black  Rock,  and  providing  them  with 
suitable  armament. 

While  the  foundation  was  thus  laid  for  further  brilliant  successes 
on  the  lakes,  successive  reports  of  the  unexpected  prowess  of  tho 
little  United  States'  navy— consisting  of  but  seven  frigates,  (fit  for 
service),  two  sloops  of  war,  five  brigs,  and  a  fleet  of  gun-boats-gave 
rise  to  great  exultation  throughout  the  country. 

The  first  naval  engagement  of  importance,  took  place  on  the  10th 
of  August.      The  American  frigate  Constitution,  Captain  Hull,  cruis- 
ing oir  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  fell  in  with  the  Guerriere,  a 
]h'itish  frigate  of  thirty-eight  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  Uacrcs. 
The  former,  receiving  successive  broadsides  from  the  Guerriere 
bore  down  in  silence  until  close  at  hand,  when  she  opened  such  an 
efioctive  fire  as  soon  to  disable  and  crijiple  the  enemy.     The  en- 
gagenieut  lasted  only  about  half  an  hour,  partly  at  close  quarters, 
and  when  the  Constitution  finally  cast  off,   all  the  masts  of  the 
Guerriere  had  gone  by  the  board.     Tho  latter  presently  slruek, 
but  she  had  received  irreparable  injury,  and  was  set  on  fire  after  a 
transfer  of  her  crew  to  the  Constitution.     This  victory  was  attri- 
buted by  the  English  to  superiority  in  force.     The  Constitution, 
according  to  their  account,  "nominally  mounting  but, forty-four  guns, 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


86& 


waa,  in  reality,  little  short  of  a  seventy-four."  The  disparity  was 
by  no  means  as  great  as  represented,  and  could  not  account  for  .ho 
result  of  the  engagement.  The  truth  seems  to  be,  that  in  this  as  in 
subsequent  affairs,  the  American  vessels  were  manoeuvred  in  a 
masterly  manner,  and  that  their  fire  was  given  with  better  aim  than 
tluit  of  their  antagonists.  ^ 

The  United  States'  sloop-of-war  Wasp,  under  Captain  Jones,  in 
chase  of  a  British  fleet  of  merchant  vessels,  in  the  month  of  October 
encountered  the  Frolic,  a  brig  of  superior  force,  acting  as  convoy! 
After  a  most  destructive  and  desperate  engagement,  the  British 
vessel  was  carried  by  boarding.  The  loss  on  board  of  the  latter, 
was  about  eighty  in  killed  and  wounded;  the  Americans  lost  but 
ten.  The  Wasp  was  so  much  crippled  in  her  rigging,  that,  to- 
gether with  her  prize,  she  was  shortly  after  captured  by  a  British 
seventy-four. 

A  few  days  later  the  frigate  United  States,  commanded  by  Deca- 
tur, captured  the  British  frigate  Macedonian,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Western  Islands.  The  American  vessel  was  somewhat  superior  in 
force,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Guerriere,  not  sufficiently  so  to 
account  for  the  rapidity  with  which  she  disabled  her  opponent,  nor 
for  the  fact,  that  of  her  crew,  only  twelve  were  killed  or  wounded, . 
while  the  loss  of  the  Macedonian  was  more  than  one  hundred.  The 
prize  was  taken  into  New  York  in  safety. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn,  the  Americans  lost  two  brigs-of- 
war,  the  Nautilus,  and  the  Vixen,  both  taken,  without  resistance, 
by  superior  force.  On  the  29th  of  December,  the  Constitution, 
under  command  of  Bainbridge,  engaged  the  British  frigate  Java  of 
thirty-eight  guns.  The  contest,  commencing  at  a  distance,  and  end- 
ing at  close-i^uarters,  continued  for  several  hours,  when  the  Java, 
being  entirely  dismasted,  struck.  She  was  so  far  crippled,  that  it 
was  judged  expedient  to  destroy  her. 

While  the  national  pride  was  gratified  by  these  victories,  numer- 
ous privateers,  mostly  fitted  out  from  New  England  ports,  met  with 
great  success  in  plundering  the  British  merchant  vessels,  homeward 
bound  from  the  Indies.  Many  valuable  prizes  were  taken— not 
without  some  hard  fighting,  in  cases  where  the  trading  vessels 
were  armed. 

The  period  of  a  presidential  election  recurring  in  1812,  Madison 
was  reelected.  Blbridge  Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  minister  to  France 
m  1797,  was  elevated  to  the  vice-presidency,  by  the  votes  of  the 


S66 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


war-partj.  Notwithstanding  a  violent  opposition,  perseverance  in 
hostile  measures  met  with  the  approbation  and  support  of  a  majority 
in  congress,  and  appropriations  were  made,  and  acts  passed,  for  the 
increase  of  the  national  force,  and  for  large  additions  to  the  navy. 

Military  operations  were  renewed  at  the  north-west,  early  in  the 
winter.  Several  Indian  villages  were  destroyed  in  December,  but 
nothing  of  importance  was  accomplished.  During  the  month  fol- 
lowing, a  detachment  of  Kentucky  troops,  under  General  Winches- 
ter, was  sent  forward  by  Harrison  to  take  a  position  at  the  Miami 
rapids.  A  body  of  nearly  seven  hundred  of  these  pushed  on  to 
Frenchtown,  on  the  Eaisin,  then  occupied  by  British  and  Indians. 
The  first  attack  was  successful ;  the  enemy  were  driven  from  the 
town,  and  the  Americans  were  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Win- 
chester with  additional  troops. 

On  the  22d,  General  Proctor,  having  crossed  over  from  Maiden 
with  a  strong  force  of  regulars  and  Indians,  fell  upon  and  totally 
defeated  the  American  detachment.  The  commanding  officer  was 
taken  prisoner  early  in  the  engagement,  while  a  portion  of  the  Amer- 
ican troops  yet  maintained  a  defensible  position.  The  general 
ordered  a  surrender,  upon  promises  of  protection  against  the  sav- 
ages. Instead  of  fulfilling  his  undertaking  in  this  respect.  Proctor 
marched  back  towards  Maiden,  with  such  prisoners  as  were  able  to 
travel,  leaving  the  wounded  unprotected  at  the  scene  of  combat. 
On  the  following  day,  no  small  portion  of  these  were  scalped,  tom- 
ahawked, or  burned  alive  in  the  houses  where  they  lay  disabled 
by  a  party  of  Indians.  Harrison,  discontinuing  oilensive  operations 
fortified  himself  at  Fort  Meigs,  on  the  rapids. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1813,  he  was  besieged  at  this  post,  by  a 
British  and  Indian  force,  under  Proctor.  Relieved  by  the  arrival 
of  rtiinforcements  from  Kentucky,  led  by  General  Clay,  he  succoeiled 
in  holding  tlie  position,  but  a  considerable  body  of  tliese  fresh  forces 
was  utterly  defeated,  after  driving  the  British  from  a  position  where 
batteries  were  erected  to  bear  upon  Fort  Meigs.  This  disaster  is 
attributed  to  the  circumstance,  that,  instead  of  maintaining  orderly 
possession  of  the  works,  they  commenced  an  irregular  skirmish  with 
detached  parties  of  Indians  in  the  surrounding  forest. 

On  the  New  York  frontier,  nothing  important  was  effected  by 
either  party  until  the  spring  was  far  advanced.  Near  the  close  of 
April,  a  detachment  of  sixteen  hundred  men  embarked  on  board 
Chauncey's  Ontario  squadron,  for  the  purpose  of  an  attr^ck  upon  the 


i 

\ 


Canadian  to 
to  eight  hui 
success,  ■  the 
assailants, 
the  killed. 

The  squa( 
forces,  unde: 
sailed  for  tl 
the  vicinity- 
retreating  to 
of  Lake  On 
detachment  ( 
of  their  gene 
division  was 
acquired  pos 
enemy  result 
men,  under  ( 
A  vigorouf 
in  the  latter 
New  York  m 
British  were 
force,  they  ol 
jury  to  the  n( 
shore  of  the 
was  said,  "for 
time  invaded 
Vol. 


THE   UNITED   STATES, 


867 


assailant.    Th/AmericanVoLt  d^C  7?^"       °"'° 
the  killed  '  ^®°^^^^  -^^Ke,  waa  among 

intjT'  "'^*  T"  *'  ^'"='™'"'  P«  "'  Sacketfs  Harbour 
m  the  la  ter  part  of  May,  was  repulsed  by  the  garrison  aided  W 
New  York  miht  a,  under  General  Rrn™     n    t  i    ^,  ^ 

British  were  more  sneeessW  1 ,1:  ^  ,  '  '''='""?''''''  *" 
force,  they  obtained  comm«d  olZeTZ  Id?;*'  r™' 
jury  to  the  neighbouring  set.Iemlr  P^S  "."'If  1  """*  "'■ 
.tore  of  .he  lake,  was  plundered  and  d«::^^:?i"  *::«"" 
was  said,  "for  the  affair  of  Yort  •»  +T10  in**    i     ■      ,  ^^venge,    it 


868 


THE  PEOrLE'8   BOOK   OF   1II8T0ET. 


U     jiiL      liii     A         it       ilj     il  lAi      X      1      i  0 

NAVAL    AFFAIRS;     FERRY'S   VICTORY    ON    LAKE    ERIE.  —  HAR- 
RISON'S  CANADIAN   CAMPAIGN.  —  THE   NIAGARA   FRONTIER, 
— THE   CREEK   WAR;    JACKSON'S    CAMPAIGN.  —  NEGOTIA- 
TIONS  FOR   PEACE.  —  BROWN'S    INVASION   OF   CANADA: 
BATTLE    OP    BRIDGEWATER.  —  OCCUPATION    OP    THE 
CHESAPEAKE:    RATTLE   OF   BL  A  DENSBU  RGH:    SEIZ- 
URE  OF   WASHINGTON:   DESTRUCTION   OF  PUBLIC 
BUILDINGS;    ATTACK    ON    BALTIMORE. 


From  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1813,  the  British  naval 
force  on  the  coast,  considerably  augmented,  maintained  a  partial 
blockade  of  many  American  seaports.  Several  ships-of-war,  enter- 
ing the  Chesapeake,  cut  off  all  ingress  or  egress  for  American  ves- 
sels, and,  landing  parties  at  diiferent  points,  did  much  damage,  and 
kept  the  neighbouring  country  in  a  state  of  anxiety  and  alarm. 

Upon  the  ocean,  the  credit  of  the  American  navy,  notwithstand- 
ing some  severe  reverses,  was  fully  maintained.  The  sloop-of-war 
Hornet,  under  Captain  Lawrence,  in  the  month  of  February,  en- 
gaged and  sunk  the  British  brig  Peacock  of  nearly  equal  force,  off 
the  coast  of  Demerara.  After  the  latter  had  struck  her  flag,  it  was 
ascertained  that  she  was  settling  fast.  The  sea  was  rough,  and, 
although  every  exertion  was  made  to  save  the  crew,  she  went 
down  with  twelve  men  on  board,  three  of  whom  were  Americans, 
belonging  to  the  Hornet. 

Captain  Lawrence  was  afterwards  promoted  to  the  command  of 
the  ill-fated  Chesapeake,  then  lying  in  Boston  harbour.  On  the 
1st  day  of  June,  the  British  frigate  Shannon,  Captain  Broke,  appear- 
ing off  the  port,  Lay/rence  got  his  vessel  under  weigh  and  made 
sail,  to  answer  the  implied  challenge.  The  ships  were  of  equal 
force,  but  the  American  frigate  laboured  under  the  disadvantage  of 
having  on  board  an  ill-disciplined  crew,  and  a  deficiency  of  compe- 
tent officers.  An  engagement — watched  from  shore  with  intense 
interest— took  place  late  in  the  afternoon.  The  Chesapeake,  par- 
tially crippled  during  a  heavy  fire  at  close-quarters,  was  carried  by 
boarding,  her  commander  lying,  at  the  time,  mortally  wounded. 
While  he  retained  possession  of  his  faculties,  he  refused  to  order  the 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


869 


fln^-  to  bo  struck,  and  among  his  last  words  wn,  fl,. 

"Don't  give  up  the  ship."  '   '"^  ^^^  expression, 

In  the  course  of  the  summer,  the  American  sloop-of-war  Ar^us 
after  taking  a  great  number  of  prizes  in  thp  1\M  u  ,  °  ' 
captured  by  the  Enghsh  sloop-oLar  Pelican     Cntain  p" '  "" 

the  1  acific  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1812      Th^  ^       \ 
of  American  whata  had  been  interrupted  a  J  endel'dS:';: 

Many  of  the  latter  'were  made  orSt  Llrr^T""'- 
tcetion  was  extended  to  AmericaTsUppC        '         *"'"''  ''°- 
The  Essex  was  attacked,  in  the  month  of  December  followin. 
while  at  anchor  in  the  neutral  nort  „f  v.i„     .""'""'  loiiowing, 

vessels  of  war.  the  Pho.leZcZ[Cr^'2TL    '  '"°  ^^'''' 
ment,  was  compelled  to  strike     tZLT'  f  f'"  ""^age- 

were  enabled  to  ke^npXJ^^^^^^  ^uns, 

for  those  of  the  Essextoleffeet'e'         '^^  ^  distance  too  great 

Operations  of  far  greater  importance,  meanwhile  had  tik^n  ni 
on  the  great  lakes    On  LiVp  "Rrio  „  ^""waiie,  naa  taken  place 

11       P.  .'  ^®  -'^"^  ^  squadron  of  nine  vessek  mn^tUr 

small  craft,  carrying  in  all  fiftv  f^nr.  „  vessels,  mo&tly 

of  commodore  Lf/  TL"B^S:&7eC.1rB:r 

oafht^de;^^^^^^^^ 
better  selected  and  more  capable  seamen 
An  engagement  took  place,  on  the  10th  of  September   in  the 

1*  :,S'  prrd^'""  "^  '''"'*"*^-  TheS :; ; ; 
=p,^drtr3-t?:^^^^^^^^ 

pen  boa,  exposed  to  a  heavy  Are,  he  went  on  boa^d  the  n" 
*  snch  _,,  and  effecVirVritr:  ^S 

"■       j.„Ke  r.ne  rendered  practicable  the 


870 


TlIK  l'EOl'LK'8   JIOOK   OF   lllSTOKY. 


trimsportiition  of  forw.s  to  any  given  point  upon  an  cxtiMisivo  front- 
iiT,  1111(1  inmlc  it  ccpuilly  inijircvisuhlo  by  tlio  cncn»y.  At  tlio  cIuho 
of  tlio  month,  IIiirriHon  and  hia  army  wero  conveyed  acroas  the 
lake  to  Maiden,  which  was  abandoned  by  Proctor  at  his  approach. 

The  retreating  army,  {)urHued  up  'riiaincH  river,  nuide  a  stand  on 
t1ie  nth  of  October,  near  Moravian  town,  above  the  forkn.  Jnchnhng 
his  Indian  allies,  led  by  Tecunisoh,  Proctor  commanded  a  Ibrco  of 
about  two  thousand  eight  hundred  men ;  that  of  Harrison  was  rathur 
inferior  in  numbers.  The  British  were  posted  on  the  right  bunk, 
between  the  river  and  extensive  swamps — the  latter  occujjiud  by 
Indians.  The  attack  was  commonood  by  the  charge  of  a  mountod 
regiment  under  Colonel  Johnson;  the  British  lino  was  broken,  and 
a  complete  victory  obtained  by  the  Americans.  The  Indians  in  tho 
swamp  held  their  ground  until  the  fall  of  their  leader — who,  it  ia 
said,  was  shot  with  a  pistol  by  Colonel  Johnson. 

The  greater  portion  of  tho  British  regular  force  surrendered,  as 
prisoners  of  war.  The  great  north-western  Indian  confederacy  was 
broken  up  by  this  event,  and  the  separate  tribes  sent  in  deputations 
suing  for  peace.  Treaties  wero  subsequently  ratified  with  most 
of  them. 

During  the  autumn,  extensive  preparations  were  made  at  the 
north  for  an  attack  on  Montreal.  Dearborn  had  been  succeeded  in 
the  chief  command  by  General  Wilkinson.  Much  dilVerencc  of 
opinion  existed  between  the  latter  and  the  secretary  of  war,  General 
Armstrong,  and  to  this  circumstance  the  ill-success  of  the  expedition 
has  been  partially  attributed.  A  force  of  seven  or  eight  thousand 
men,  concentrated  at  Grenadier  island,  was  to  descend  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  cooperate  with  a  division  of  four  thousand,  under 
General  Hampton,  ordered  to  march  from  Plattsburgh,  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  The  advance  of  this  lattef  portion  of  the  army  was  checked 
by  a  few  militia,  whose  force  was  overrated  by  the  American  gen- 
eral; and,  the  approach  of  winter  adding  to  the  difficulties  of  a 
campaign,  a  retreat  was  ordered,  and  the  army  returned  to  ita 
former  quarters. 

"Wilkinson  pushed  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  greatly  annoyed  by 
the  enemy,  who  followed  in  the  wake  of  his  flotilla  with  gun-boats, 
and  who  occupied  every  convenient  stand,  on  the  shore,  from  which 
they  might  comniand  the  passage.  It  became  necessary  to  land  a 
large  detachment,  to  follow  the  course  of  the  river  by  land,  and 
open  a  way  for  the  boats.    On  the  11th  of  November,  quite  a  severe 


TilK    IJNITKU    ST  ATI;  8. 


871 


cngngornont  took  place  between  this  divi«i.>„  a.ul  a  body  of  iho 

Arnvingut  St  J{ogiH,  Wilkinson  learned  the  failure  of  Ilarnpton's 
«  tempt  at  for.n.r.g  a  junetion  with  the  n.uin  foree.     Tl  ^s 

of  t  e  ^.a,son  was  unfavourable  for  further  action,  ar.d,  al        d 

Mor.treal  w,u.  defended  by  a  very  small  force,  it  was  dc"cido    'to 

t:7^:nr'''"'  ^^--^--^-ntintowint:^^:^:;.:: 

The  frontier,  left  ur.proteeted  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  regular 
troopH  from  the  garnsor.ed  posts,  and  by  the  expiration  of  the^e  m 
of  service  of  nnhtm  and  volunteers,  suffered  seterely  fron.  tl  e    , 

cZl        r7-    ""'''''''  M'Clure,  compelled  to' aba,. don  Zt 
George  on  the  Niagara,  set  fire  to  the  village  of  Newark  which  wl 
reduced  to  ashes,  and  its  inhabitants  were  left  withou'  a    h  C 
.n  the  inclement  month  of  December.     His  instructions  were  to  take 
t  ns  course,  ,f  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  furt;  but  the  cucurn 
sanccs  warranted  no  such  outrage,  and,  in  retaliation,  the  I  di  n 
Ihos  of  the  Bnfsh  were  encouraged  to  plunder  and  lay  waste  ho 
ror.t,er  villages  on  the  American  side.     On  the  30th  of  Dlembor 
the  towns  of  Black  Eock  and  BufFalo  were  entirely  destroy  d  by  an 
mvadmg  party  of  the  enemy.  ^      ^ 

Meanwhile,  the  machinations  of  Tecumseh  had  produced  their 
full  eftect  at  the  south.  The  formidable  Creek  confederacy  had 
commenced  open  war  upon  the  white  settlers.  The  first  important 
blow  struck  was  at  Fort  Mimms,  on  the  Alabama  river, 'b  the 
lensaw  settlement,  which  was  sacked  on  the  30th  of  Auirust  bv  a 
large  body  of  Indians,  under  the  noted  chief  Weatherford  '  The 
garnson,  one  hundred  and  sixty  in  number,  with  more  than  a  hun- 
Irod  inhabitants  of  the  neighbourhood,  of  every  age  and  sex  who 
l.ad  sought  protection  at  the  fort,  were  nearly  all  killed  in  the  fight 
or  perished  in  the  burning  buildings.  ^    ' 

of  rinof/rr''  r^'f  ^°  '^'""'^''^'  "^^^  P^^^  under  command 
of  GeneralJackson,  for  the  purpose  of  checking  the  ravages  of  the 

Indians     Marching  into  the  Creek  territory  in  the  month  of  Octo- 

ber,  Jackson  beat  up  the  enemy's  quarters  at  Tallussahachee  creek 

a  tributary  of  the  Coosa,  and  relieved  a  post  occupied  by  friendlv 

ndians  at  Talladega,  further  down  the  sVeam,  deLoyinV  ever^ 

hundred  of  the  hostile  party.    In  other  engagements^ the  Creek 

were  worsted,  but  tjieir  spirit  seemed  unconquerable,  and,  a.  thev 


872 


TllK    rKOI'LK'H    HOOK   OK    IIISTOUV. 


li.'iil  fdiiiKil  ail    idiu  tlmt  no  quartiT  would  bo  given  them,  tlioy 
Ibii^lit  with  great  courago  and  dowiionition. 

l,itll('  WHS  n('('oni|iIi.Mlicd  during  llin  winter,  on  iieeonnt  of  tl)(« 
extreme  dinioidty  ol'  maintaining  an  army  in  tlic  wilderness,  'j'iio 
skill  and  energy  disjilayed  by  General  Jaekson,  in  j)reserving  dis- 
cijiline,  and  Hecuriiig  HujijilieH  for  liis  troojw  nntb^r  these  trying  eir- 
cnmstaneeH,  gairu'd  him  even  greater  rcputatinn  than  his  brilliimt 
achievements  in  actual  warfare.  In  the  monlh  of  March,  IHll, 
about  one  thousand  of  the  Creek  warriors  fortified  tluimsclves  at 
the  (ireut  llorae-Shoe-neml,  in  the  TallajiooHie. 

On  the  27th,  th(>y  wen!  surrounded  and  attacked  by  a  vastly 
giuijcrior  force  of  whites  and  friendly  Indians.  Tluiy  fought  witli 
fury  to  tho  last,  firing — perhaps  through  ignorance— upon  the  bearor 
of  a  flag,  who  was  sent  f()rvvard  by  Jackson  to  propose  a  surrender. 
More  tluin  half  their  number  were  killed  in  the  attack ;  great  num- 
bers perished  in  tho  river,  and  but  a  handful  of  the  whole  number 
eflbctcd  their  escape.  Very  few  of  tho  men  were  taken  prisoners 
but,  after  tho  battle,  several  huiulred  women  and  children  were 
secured.  Tho  various  tribes,  after  thi.s  event,  were  ready  to  con- 
clude a  peace,  and  to  conline  themselvca  within  their  territory,  east- 
ward from  tho  Coosa. 

At  the  winter  session  of  congress,  1813-14,  the  exigencies  of  the 
war  were  met  by  the;  adoption  of  new  schemes  for  procuring  funds. 
Direct  taxes,  loans,  additional  duties,  kc,  were  resorted  to.  Tho 
war-})arty,  still  in  the  ascendency,  favoured  tho  views  of  the  presi- 
dent, and,  upon  his  recommendation,  an  embargo  was  laid  upon  all 
goods,  produce,  &c.,  whieli  could  be  of  service  to  tho  enemy.  Im- 
portations of  British  goods  were  also  expressly  prohibited. 

Early  in  January,  a  {irojrosition  to  treat  for  i)eaee,  was  received 
from  England,  and  commissioners  wc^re  appointed  to  j)roceed  to 
Gottingen  for  the  purpose.  Previous  oilers  of  mediation,  made  by 
tho  Emperor  of  Russia,  had  been  rej)eatedly  projio.sed  to  the  British 
government,  and  as  often  rejected.  Intelligence  of  Napoleon's 
reverses,  brought  over  at  the  same  time  with  the  British  peace  em- 
bassy, was  not  without  its  influence,  in  fortifying  tho  policy  of 
pacific  measures. 

No  military  movements  of  importance,  took  place  at  the  north 
during  the  winter  and  spring.  Toward  the  close  of  March,  General 
Wilkinson  marched  from  Plattsburgh  across  the  Canadian  boundary, 
with  a  force  of  four  thousand  men,  but  the  invasion  resulted  in 


tlicin,  thvy 

>iint  of  tli(! 
riii'.MS.  'I'ho 
st'rviiig  (lis- 
1'  tr)'iti^'  cir- 
liiw  l)rilliiiiit 
liticli,  1811, 

(illlSolvL'H   lit 

l>y  a  vastly 
foii^lit  witli 
n  till"  bearor 
11  surrciiiit'i', 
^Tfiit  iiiim- 
lolc  tmmber 
u  priHoiiers, 
ildren  wcro 
luly  to  cull- 
•ritory,  cast- 

nciea  of  the 
iring  funds. 
Ml  t(x  Tho 
)f  tlio  presi- 
vid  ujion  all 
nomy.  Ini- 
id. 

I'us  received 

proceed  to 

n,  made  by 

the  British 

Napoleon's 

li  peace  em- 

3   policy  of 

t  the  north 

'ch,  General 

1  boiiiulary, 

resulted  in 


m 


r  i:  c  u  USE  u. 


nothing  bu 
and  was  su 
At  the  i 
new  army 
Between  th 
river  at  Bi 
the  seizure 
diate  neigi 
force,  com] 
engagemen 
feated,  wit! 
ton  heights 
forces  from 
The  Am< 
encounterec 
.  Although  t 
posted  upor 
was  nearly 
hesitation. 

A  regime 
rear  of  the 
of  the  armi 
battle  becai 
waged  thro 
British  batt 
gallantly  stc 
lery  corps, 
assaults  unti 
The  Ame: 
fore  claimed 
ing  to  seve 
wounded,  ai 
Brown  and 
them  from  f 
Little  advar 
inspired  gen 
and  the  bra-\ 
its  designati 
It  was  impos 
they  were  ih 


THE   UNITED  STATES. 


373 


nothing  but  loss  and  defeat.     He  soon  after  resigned  his  commission, 
and  was  succeeded  by  General  Izard. 

At  the  instance  of  the  American  generals,  Brown  and.  Scott,  a 
new  army  of  invasion  was  collected  in  tho  vicinity  of  Niagara. 
Between  three  and  four  thousand  men  were  transported  across  the 
river  at  Buffalo,  on  the  night  of  July  2d,  apd  after  accomplishing 
the  seizure  of  Fort  Erie,  pushed  on  towards  Chippewa,  in  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood  of  the  Falls,  where  a  British  army,  of  equal 
force,  commanded  by  General  Eiall,  lay  encamped.  A  severe 
engagement  took  place  on  the  6th,  in  which  the  British  were  de- 
feated, with  a  loss  of  five  hundred  men.  Eiall  retreated  to  Burling- 
ton heights.  A  few  weeks  later  he  was  joined  by  large  additional 
forces  from  York,  under  General  Drummond. 

The  American  army,  marching  towards  Queenstown,  (July  25th,) 
encountered  the  enemy  at  Bridgewater,  hard  by  the  Falls  of  Niagara. 
-Although  the  British  had  taken  a  position  in  which  their  artillery, 
posted  upon  a  hill,  could  command  the  field,  and  although  the  day 
was  nearly  spent,  the  Americans  commenced  an  attack  without 
hesitation. 

A  regiment  under  Major  Jessup,  making  a  detour,  came  upon 'the 
rear  of  the  enemy,  while  General  Scott,  with  the  advanced  division 
of  the  army,  attacked  in  front.  The  main  force  coming  up,  the 
battle  became  general,  and  a  bloody  and  desperate  conflict'  was 
waged  through  half  the  night,  by  the  light  of  the  moon.  The 
British  battery,  which  had  at  first  proved  terribly  destructive,  was 
gallantly  stormed  by  Colonel  Miller,  with  a  battalion  from  the  artil- 
lery corps.  Possession  of  the  hill  was  maintained  against  repeated 
assaults  until  the  fighting  ceased. 

The  Americans  kept  temporary  possession  of  the  field,  and  there- 
fore claimed  the  victory.  The  loss  on  either  side  was  heavy,  amount- 
ing to  seven  or  eight  hundred.  The  British  general  Eiall  was 
wounded,  and  taken  prisoner  by  Jessup's  detachment.  Generals 
Brown  and  Scott  were  both  so  severely  wounded  as  to  incapacitate 
them  from  present  service,  and  General  Eipley  assumed  command. 
Little  advantage  was  gained  in  the  engagement,  further  than  as  it 
inspired  general  confidence  in  the  capacity  of  the  American  ofiicers, 
and  the  bravery  of  the  troops.  The  battle  has  commonly  received 
its  designation  from  the  neighbouring  locality  of  "Lundy's  Lane." 
It  was  impossible  to  remove  the  cannon  from  the  British  battery,  and 
they  were  lucrcfore  recovered  upon  ;,he  departure  of  the  Americans. 


874 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   UJ!'  HISTORY. 


The  latter  retreated  to  Fort  Erie,  where  they  strengthened  their 
position  in  anticipation  of  siege  by  a  superior  force.  The  post  was 
beset  accordingly  on  the  4th  of  August,  by  General  Drummond 
with  over  four  thousand  men.  On  the  15th,  an  attempt  to  carry  it 
by  storm  was  signally  repulsed.  In  September,  General  Brown 
reassumed  command  of  the  forces  at  Fort  Erie,  and,  as  the  siege  had 
continued  for  more  than  a  month,  and  supplies  were  with  difficulty 
to  be  procured,  he  attempted  a  sortie.  So  skillfully  and  boldly  was 
the  movement  conducted,  that  the  British  guns  were  spiked,  their 
magazines  blown  up,  and  some  four  or  five  hundred  prisoners  taken. 
The  whole  loss  of  the  besiegers  fell  little  short  of  a  thousand  men; 
that  of  the  sallying  party  was  about  five  hundred.  Drummond 
shortly  after  drew  off  his  forces. 

Believed  from  the  burden  of  maintaining  war  upon  the  European 
continent,  and  with  abundance  of  veteran  troops,  and  a  powerful 
navy,  at  liberty  for  transatlantic  service.  Great  Britain  commenced 
more  directly  offensive  operations  in  America.  A  fleet  commanded" 
by  Admiral  Cochrane  entered  the  Chesapeake,  and,  passing  up 
Patuxent  river,  reached  Benedict  on  the  19th  of  August  (1814). 
Between  four  and  five  thousand  troops,  mostly  trained  in  the  school  of 
continental  service,  were  landed  at  this  point,  and,  under  command 
of  General  Ross,  took  up  their  line  of  march  towards  Washington. 

As  the  army  approached  Marlborough,  the  American  fleet  of 
gun-boats,  &c.,  lying  at  that  place,  was  destroyed,  to  prevent  its 
seizure  by  the  enemy.  General  Winder,  of  Baltimore,  who  held 
command  in  that  quarter,  with  a  thousand  regulars,  and  authority 
to  call  out  the  militia  within  a  specified  district,  made  what  prepara- 
tions were  practicable  to  resist  the  British  advance.  The  whole 
force  that  he  was  enabled  to  collect  and  arm,  fell  short  of  four 
thousand  men,  and  these  were  in  the  most  unserviceable  and  un- 
disciplined condition — what  stand  could  they  be  expected  to  make 
against  a  superior  force  of  the  "veterans  of  the  Peninsula?" 

The  British  march  was  unopposed,  until  the  army,  on  the  24tb, 
reached  Bladensburgh,  six  miles  from  the  capitol,  on  the  East  bank 
of  the  Potomac.  Here  the  American  forces  were  posted  on  the 
right  bank,  the  bridge  over  the  stream  being  commanded  by  several 
pieces  of  artillery,  in  charge  of  Commodore  Barney,  who  was  pres- 
ent with  his  corps  of  five  hundred  marines,  before  attached  to  the 
flotilla  destroyed  at  Marlborough.  This  body  of  men  fought  bravely 
and  obstinately,  holding  the  enemy  in  check  after  the  militia  had 


THE    UNITED    STATES. 


375 


been  routed  and  dispersed.  Their  flank  was  finally  tnrned,  and 
they  were  compelled  to  join  in  a  general  retreat.  The  loss  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans  was  but  about  fifty  in  killed  and  wounded 

Abandoning  the  capitolto  the  enemy,  Winder  drew  off"  his  forces 
to  the  heights  of  Georgetown,  and,  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of 
the  battle  the  British  army  entered  Washington,  and  burned  the 
capitol,  he  president's  house,  and  most  of  the  public  buildings 
This  malicious  destruction  of  valuable  libraries,  records  &c  is 
stigmatized  by  one  of  their  own  writers  as  "a  piece  of  Vandalism 
that  covered  the  expedition  with  disgrace ;"  it  was  excused  as  being 
m  retaliation  for  the  burning,  by  the  Americans,  ^of  the  Canadian 
Parliament  House  at  York. 

On  the  night  of  the  25th,  after  accomplishing  some  further  injury 
-not  entirely  confined  to  public  property-the  invading  army  was 
drawn  off,  and  marched  back  towards  Benedict.  A  reembarkation 
.  was  effected  on  the  30th.  Meantime,  some  of  the  larger  vessels 
havmg  entered  the  Potomac,  made  their  way  up  to  Alexandria- 
where  all  the  shipping  in  port  was  seized,  and  a  large  amount  of 
provisions  and  valuable  stores  was  exacted  from  the  inhabitants 

Ihe  vicinity  of  Baltimore  was  the  next  scene  of  operations  bv  the 
armament  m  the  Chesapeake.  The  inhabitants  of  that  city  fore- 
warned of  danger,  were  prepared  for  defence.  Eoss  landed  at 
North  Point,  at  the  entrance  of  Patapsco  river,  fifteen  miles  from 
the  city,  on  the  12th  of  September,  with  a  force  of  five  thousand 
men.  The  defence  was  conducted  by  General  Smith.  An  advanced 
detachment  of  three  thousand  men,  under  General  Striker  was 
compelled  to  retire  before  the  invading  columns;  but  in  the'  first 
mel^e  Eoss  was  killed,  and  the  command  devolved  on  Colonel 
Brooke. 

Owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the  entrance  of  the  harbour,  and  the 
gallant  defence  of  the  protecting  forts,  M'Henry  and  Covington  the 
British  fleet  was  unable  to  cooperate  with  the  land  forces,  and'  the 
city  appearing  too  well  defended  to  render  an  attack  advisable  the 
attempt  was  abandoned.  The  troops  reembarked  on  the  night  of 
the  13th,  and  shortly  after,  the  fleet  sailed  for  the  South. 


I 


876 


TUE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


uilAiriJaxi     AXv. 


t 


OrERATIONS  ON  THE  COAST  OF  MAINE,  —  ATTACK   ON  PLATTS- 
BUROII:    BATTLE   OP  LAKE   CIIAMPLAIN.  —  NAVAL  AFFAIRS: 
LAFITTE.  —  NEGOTIATION  AT   OHENT,  —  THE   HART- 
FORD CONVENTION. — TREATY  OP  FEACE. — JACK- 
SON'S DEFENCE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS:  BATTLE  OF 
JANUARY  8. — NAVAL  EN0A0EMENT8. 


In  pursuance  of  their  plans  of  oifence,  the  British  made  a  descent 
in  September,  (1814),  upon  the  coast  of  Maine.  They  took  nominal 
possession  of  all  the  eastern  district,  and  seized  upon  several  towns 
and  villages  on  Penobscot  bay;  but  the  most  substantial  injury 
inflicted  *txpon  the  Americans  in  this  quarter  was  the  destruction  of 
the  frigate  John  Adams.  This  vessel  was  pursued  up  Penobscot 
river  by  a  strong  detachment,  and,  after  an  attempt  at  defence,  was 
set  on  fire,  by  order  of  her  commander,  to  prevent  her  falling  into 
the  enemy's  hands. 

At  the  same  time,  Plattsburgh,  on  Champlain,  was  threatened  by 
a  powerful  array  of  land  and  naval  forces.  The  former  consisted  of 
twelve  thousand  disciplined  troops,  mostly  veteran  soldiers,  com- 
manded by  Governor  George  Prevost;  the  latter  under  Commo- 
dore Downie,  numbered  sixteen  vessels,  the  largest  carrying  thirty- 
seven  guns;  the  whole  flotilla,  including  gun-boats,  mounted  nearly 
one  hundred  guns,  and  had  on  board  about  a  thousand  men. 

Plattsburgh  was  defended  by  about  six  thousand  troops — regulars 
and  militia  from  adjoining  states — and  by  the  squadron  under  Com- 
modore M'Donough,  which  was  anchored  at  the  entrance  of  the 
harbour.  The  American  fleet  was  slightly  inferior  to  that  of  the 
British,  both  in  number  of  vessels,  of  guns,  and  of  men  on  board. 
The  Saranac  river  civided  the  opposing  land  forces;  the  British  had 
been  occupied  for  some  days  previous  to  the  general  engagement, 
strengthening  their  position  on  the  left  bank. 

On  the  morning  of  September  11,  an  attack  was  commenced  by 
the  enemy  both  by  land  and  water.  M'Donough's  squadron,  lying 
in  a  favourable  position,  had  an  advantage  at  the  commencement  of 


THE    UNITED    STATES. 

A. 


877 

the  engagement,  which  was  maintained  until  its  close.  The  prin- 
cipal  encounter  by  which  the  fortune  of  the  day  wa.  decided,  took 
place  between  the  Saratoga,  the  American  flag  ship,  and  the  Confl. 
ancc,  commanded  by  Downie.  Pouring  in  a  succession  of  broadsides, 
tlie  guns  of  either,  on  the  exposed  side,  were  mostly  silenced.  Both 
vessels  then  attempted  to  take  new  positions,  by  which  thoir  other 
guns  m.ght  be  made  available.  The  Saratoga  succeeded;  but  the 
Brush  ship,  failing  to  accomplish  the  intended  movement,  lay  helu- 
IcHsly  exposed  to  a  raking  fire,  and  was  forced  to  strike.  Between 
eleven  and  twelve  o'clock,  the  whole  fleet  having  followed  this 
example,  the  engagement  ceased.  The  gun-boats,  however,  made 
their  escape,  while  the  attention  of  the  Americans  was  occupied 
in  securing  their  prizes. 

Meanwhile,  the  land  division,  attempting  to  ford  the  Saranac,  met 
with  a  severe,  and  decided  repulse;  and  upon  the  conclusion  of  the 
naval  engagement,  a  retreat  was  ordered.  The  expedition  thus 
ended  in  signal  failure  and  defeat.  The  loss  of  the  British  in  killed 
wounded,  prisoners,  and  deserters,  is  said  to  have  exceeded  two 
thousand  men. 

During  the  autumn,  the  British  navy  obtained  entire  command  of 
the  sea-coast;  and  in  the  Ontario,  a  large  ship,  recently  fitted  out  at 
Kingston,  kept  possession  of  the  lake.  The  Wa^p  and  the  Peacock 
were  the  last  American  armed  vessels  upon  service  abroad  at  this 
season.  The  first  of  these,  after  taking  many  prizes,  among  others, 
two  British  national  vessels,  foundered  at  sea,  or  went  to  pieces  on 
some  unknown  coast,  as  she  was  never  afterwards  heard  from  Tlic 
Peacock,  eluding  the  blockade,  came  safe  to  port,  having  made  a 
successful  cruise,  and  captured  a  number  of  merchant  vessels. 

Another  piece  of  service  was  accomplished  in  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber, by  an  expedition  under  Commodore  Patterson,  against  a  settle- 
ment of  French  rovers,  who  harboured  at  Barataria  bay,  a  short 
distance  westward  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  These  out- 
laws professed  to  cruise  exclusively  against  Spanish  commerce  but 
they  were  considered  as  little  other  than  pirates.  One  of  their 
number  was  the  noted  Lafitte,  concerning  whom  as  many  improba- 
Me  tales  have  been  told  as  those  connected  with  the  piracies  of  Kidd 
Ten  vessels,  belonging  to  this  fraternity,  were  seized,  after  beins 
deserted  by  their  crews. 

About  this  time  arrived  reports  from  the  commissioners  appointed 
to  treat  for  peace.     Negotiations  had  been  opened  at  Ghent,  but  the 


/ 


878 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HIBTOBY. 


demands  of  Great  Britain  were  too  extravagant  to  require  a  moment's 
consideration.  Among  other  requisitions,  the  United  States  were 
called  upon  to  forego  any  future  acquisition  of  Indian  lands  at  the 
north-west;  to  abstain  from  providing  for  frontier  defence  by  forts 
or  a  flotilla  on  the  lakes ;  to  cede  a  portion  of  the  north-eastern  ter- 
ritory to  Great  Britain ;  and  to  give  up  their  privileges  respecting 
the  coast  fishery. 

The  friends  of  the  administration,  at  this  juncture,  were  alarmed 
and  indignant  at  a  movement  in  New  England,  which  threatened  a 
more  serious  rupture  between  different  sections  of  the  Union  than 
any  that  had  preceded  it.  In  response  to  a  call  by  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts,  delegates  were  appointed  from  all  the  New  England 
states — in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Ehode  Island,  chosen 
directly  by  the  legislatures — to  meet  at  Hartford  on  the  15th  of  De- 
cember, for  the  purpose  of  devising  and  proposing  such  amendments 
to  the  constitution  as  might  secure  rights  of  representation,  &c.,  to  the 
northern  states,  equal  to  such  as  were  enjoyed  by  those  of  the  south, 
and  for  general  consultation  upon  the  "danger  to  which  the  eastern 
section  of  the  Union"  was  "exposed  by  the  course  of  the  war." 

Notwithstanding  a  vast  amount  of  obloquy,  and  wide-spread  accusa- 
tion of  treasonable  designs,  the  convention  met  accordingly,  and,  after 
a  secret  session  of  between  two  and  three  weeks,  the  delegates  submit- 
ted an  address  to  the  New  England  legislatures,  setting  forth  the  con- 
clusions at  which  they  had  arrived.  These,  in  addition  to  a  recitation 
of  grievances,  related  principally  to  the  disputed  question  respecting 
the  power  of  the  federal  government  over  the  militia;  and  to  the 
measures  requisite  for  local  defence  against  the  enemy.  The  pro- 
posed constitutional  amendments  were  chiefly  advisory — that  the 
power  of  congress  in  respect  to  warlike  measures  should  be  curtailed 
by  the  requirement  of  a  two-thirds  vote,  and  that  slaves  should  be  ex- 
cluded n  the  representative  computation.  The  general  tone  of  the 
dof^r  !nt  was  more  moderate  and  less  treasonable  than  had  been 
anticipated. 

The  cessation  of  war  in  Europe  having  removed  all  substantial 
occasion  for  further  collision  of  interest  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States,  the  former  abated  her  demands,  and  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  signed  at  Ghent  in  the  month  of  December.  The  claims 
respecting  impressment  and  right  of  search  were  left  undecided,  as 
only  relating  to  a  state  of  war  which  it  were  unnecessary  to  antici- 
pate; privileges  formerly  enjoyed  by  the  United  States'  fishermen 


THE  UNITED   STATES. 


879 


on  the  British  American  coast,  and  a  right  of  navigation  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi, before  secured  to  Great  Britain,  were  abandoned;  in  all 
other  respects  the  parties  remained  in  statu  quo. 

This  joyful  intelligence  did  not  readi  the  United  States  until  Feb- 
ruary, a  period  when  the  whole  nation  was  rejoicing  over  the  most 
brilliant  piece  of  success  that  had  attended  its  arms  on  land,  through- 
out the  war.  In  the  month  of  November,  General  Jackson,  being  in 
occupation  of  Pensacola,  temporarily  seized  from  the  Spanish  au- 
thorities on  account  of  the  landing  of  British  forces  in  that  quarter, 
obtained  information  of  an  intended  attack  upon  New  Orleans. 
After  forwarding  orders  for  raising  militia,  and  for  other  defensive 
preparations,  he  repaired  thither  in  person,  and  arrived,  with  a  small 
force  of  regulars,  on  the  1st  of  December. 

"With  all  the  ardour  and  energy  of  his  character,  he  engaged  in 
the  difficult  work  of  organizing  an  army,  from  materials  the  most  in- 
congruous and  ill-suited  to  regular  military  operations.  Men  of 
diiFerent  nations  and  colour,  utterly  unused  to  the  discipline  of  a 
camp;  convicts  from  the  prisons;  a  portion  of  those  pirates  or  pri- 
vateers previously  ousted  from  Barataria;  were  marshalled  and  put 
in  such  condition  for  service  as  time  and  circumstances  would  admit. 
The  work  of  throwing  up  fortifications  was  carried  on  with  uninter- 
mitting  ardour. 

In  the  midst  of  these  preparations,  and  before  the  arrival  of  troops 
expected  from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  upon  which  the  general 
placed  his  chief  reliance,  a  British  fleet  appeared  at  the  entrance  of 
Lake  Borgne.  This  was  the  squadron  recently  occupying  the  Ches- 
apeake, together  with  other  vessels  from  England,  bringing  over 
large  reinforcements  of  troops.  The  whole  force,  including  sailors 
and  marines,  exceeded  fifteen  thousand  men.  Most  of  the  troops 
had  been  disciplined  and  inured  to  service  in  the  continental  war. 
The  American  flotilla  of  gun-boats  on  the  lake  made  a  gallant  de- 
fence, but  was  finally  captured,  and  the  main  British  force,  passing 
up  in  boats,  effected  a  landjpg  at  the  western  shore. 

The  advanced  division  of  two  thousand  men,  after  gaining  the 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  fifteen  miles  below  the  city,  commenced  its 
march  up  the  river.  On  the  night  of  December  23d,  a  spirited  attack 
was  made  by  the  Americans  upon  this  detachment,  a  schooner  in 
the  river  opening  fire  at  the  same  time  that  the  engagement  com- 
mencol  on  shore.  The  British,  attaining  a  defensible  position,  finally 
mainta.  vd  their  ground,  and  the  assailants  drew  off". 


880 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


^  Reinforcements  had  meanwhile  arrived  from  Tennessee  and  Mis- 
sissippi,  until  the  force  at  New  Orleans  amounted  to  about  five  thou- 
sand men.  The  emergency  of  the  occasion,  and  the  disturbed 
condition  of  the  city,  induced  Jackson  to  proclaim  martial  law,  and 
to  take  such  measures  as  should  prevent  the  legislative  assembly 
from  counteracting  his  plans  of  defence  by  any  offers  of  capitulation. 
The  governor,  Claibourne,  had  submitted  to  Jackson's  authority,  and 
entering  with  zeal  into  the  plans  of  the  general,  he  anticipated  the 
danger  of  any  such  movement,  by  a  forcible  dissolution  of  the 
assembly. 

The  day  following  the  first  engagement,  Jackson  had  taken  a 
position  some  four  miles  below  the  city,  on  the  left  bank,  where  a 
trench  was  carried  across  the  entire  strip  of  dry  land  from  the  river 
bank  down  the  gradual  declivity  to  the  swamp.  The  embankment 
was  enlarged  and  strengthened  by  piles  of  movables,  cotton  bales, 
&c.  An  armed  vessel,  lying  in  the  river,  was  so  stationed  as  to  flank 
the  ditch  and  command  the  approach  from  below:  works  were  also 
erected  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  enemy  attempted  to  storm  these  fortifications  on  the  28th, 
and  failing  in  that,  they  erected  batteries  to  play  upon  the  American 
works.     A  heavy  cannonade  on  both  sides,  on  the  1st  of  January 
(1815),  resulted  in  the  silencing  of  the  British  guna.     On  the  4th 
reinforcements  arrived  from  Kentucky. 

An  interval  of  a  few  days  was  then  spent  in  preparations  for  a 
decisive  assault.  A  canal  was  cut  by  which  a  number  of  boats  were 
transported  from  the  lake  to  the  river,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
over  a  detachment  to  the  right  bank.  This  was  effected  on  the  night 
of  the  7th,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  following  day,  the  main  army, 
under  command  of  Sir  Edward  Packenham,  assaulted  the  American 
entrenchments.  The  desperate  character  of  an  attack,  at  such  fearful 
disadvantage,  is  evident  from  the  result.  The  Americans,  firing 
from  co-i-ert,  lost  less  than  twenty  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  while 
the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  not  far  from  two  thousand  men.  Among 
the  slain  was  General  Packenham,  who  fell  leading  his  men  to  the 
charge. 

The  detachment  on  the  right  bank,  in  the  full  tide  of  success 
having  driven  from  their  entrenchments  and  defeated  a  greatly  su- 
perior force,  was  recalled,  when  the  fortune  of  the  day  was  decided 
and  the  whole  army,  retreating  unmolested  to  the  lake,  reembarked! 
The  only  success  that  attended  this  expedition  was  the  subsequent 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


881 


capture  of  Fort  Bowyer,  at  Mobile,  which,  being  garrisoned  by  less 
than  four  hundred  men,  surrendered  on  the  18th  of  February. 

Several  naval  engagements  took  place  before  news  of  the  peace 
could  be  generally  circulated.  On  the  15th  of  January  the  frigate 
President,  commanded  by  Decatur,  attempting  to  get  to  sea  from 
New  York,  was  intercepted  by  the  British  blockading  squadron,  and 
after  a  sharp  engagement  with  the  Endymion,  a  frigate  of  forty  guns, 
was  compelled  to  strike  by  the  advance  of  other  vessels  to  the  sup' 
port  of  the  enemy.  The  Constitution,  in  the  month  of  February 
made  prize  in  a  single  action  of" the  Cyane  and  the  Levant,  carrying 
respectively  twenty-four  and  eighteen  guns.  This  was  accomplished 
by  adroit  manoeuvring,  so  as  to  keep  beyond  reach  of  their  guna, 
while  her  own,  of  heavier  metal,  could  tell  with  destrur^tive  effect 
The  Hornet  and  Peacock  each  captured  a  British  national  vessel. 
The  Nautilus,  taken  by  the  latter  on  the  80th  of  June,  1815,  was 
immediately  restored,  upon  communication  of  intelligence,  satisfac- 
tory to  the  commander  of  the  Hornet,  that  peace  had  been  concluded 


CHAPTEHI?. 

WAR  WITH  ALGIERS.— TARIFF;  NATIONAL  BANK.  — MONROE 
PRESIDENT.— JACKSON'S  SEMINOLE  C  AMP  AION.— C  ESSION  ' 
OP   FLORIDA  BY  8P AIN.  — ADMISSION   OF   MISSOURI-    THE 
COMPROMISE.— MONROE'S    SECOND    TERM.— ADMINIS- 
TRATION  OF    JOHN    QUINCT   AD AMS.  — ELECTION    OF 
ANDREW    JACKSON.— THE    TARIFF. —NULLIFI- 
CATION   IN    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  — THE    UNITED 
STATES'   BANK,— INDIAN    REMOVALS.— 
BLACK    HAWK.  — THE    CHEROKEES, 

Almost  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain,  the  attention  of  congress  being  directed  by  the  president  to 
late  outrages  upon  our  commerce  by  Barbary  cruisers,  war  was  de- 
dared  against  Algiers.  A  squadron  of  ten  vessels,  commanded  by 
Decatur-to  be  followed  by  another  under  Bainbridge-was  dis- 
patched to  the  Mediterranean  in  the  month  of  May  following  The 
capture  of  two  armed  vessels,  one  of  them  being  the  largest  in  his 


882 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


navy,  bo  aJarnied  the  dey,  that  he  at  once  concluded  a  treaty  by 
which  the  United  States  were  for  ever  freed  from  the  disgraceful 
payment  of  tribute,  and  all  American  prisoners  were  freed  without 
ransom.     His  vessels  were  gratuitously  returned  to  him. 

From  Algiers,  Decatur  sailed  for  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  both  of  which 
nations  were  compelled  to  furnish  indemnity  for  the  sufferance  of 
capture  by  the  British  of  United  States'  vessels,  while  in  their  ports. 
His  whole  mission  accomplished,  the  commodore  joined  Bain- 
bridge  at  Gibralter. 

At  the  next  session  of  congress,  1815-16,  a  long  and  vehement 
discussion  arose  respecting  the  establishment  of  the  new  tariff.  All 
the  opposing  interests  of  the  producer  and  manufacturer  were  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  question.  As  finally  settled,  a  judicious  discrimina- 
tion was  made  between  those  articles  which  could  be  produced  or 
manufactured  in  perfection  at  home,  and  those,  being  at  the  same 
time  articles  of  necessity,  for  which  we  must  still  be  partially  or 
wholly  dependent  upon  foreign  nations. 

A  new  national  bank,  upon  specie-paying  principles,  and  having 
a  capital  of  thirty-five  millions,  mostly  to  be  subscribed  for  in  United 
States'  stocks,  was  also  established  at  this  session.  The  Union  was 
extended,  toward  the  close  of  the  year,  by  the  admission  of  Indiana, 
as  a  separate  state.  The  presidential  election  again  recurring,  James 
Monroe,  secretary  of  state  under  Madison,  was  elected  to  the  highest 
office,  and  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  to  that  of  vice-president.  The  inau- 
guration took  place  on  the  4th  of  March,  1817. 

During  the  year,  additional  treaties  were  effected  with  most  of  the 
western  Indians,  by  which  their  title  was  extinguished  to  large  dis- 
tricts, at  this  time  fast  filling  up  with  an  enterprising  population 
from  the  east.  At  the  south,  trouble  was  already  brewing  between 
the  Seminoles  and  the  white  settlers.  Spain  still  retaining  her  title 
to  both  East  and  "West  Florida,  the  chastisement  of  the  Indians  by 
pursuing  them  into  a  foreign  jurisdiction  became  a  delicate  matter, 
but  the  necessities  of  the  case  seeming  to  require  some  action.  Gen- 
eral Jackson,  with  a  large  force  of  Tennessee  volunteers,  was  dis- 
patched against  them.  The  operations  of  the  campaign  in  regard  to 
the  conquest  of  Indian  territory,  will  be  found  briefly  recapitulated 
in  a  subsequent  chapter.  A  high  handed  proceedure  of  the  general, 
in  the  trial  by  ccart  martial,  and  execution  of  two  British  subjects, 
Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  for  inciting  the  Indians  to  war,  and  lending 
them  aid  and  assistance,  has  been  heavily  censured.     The  seizure  of 


^i"^- 


mmmm 


JAMES    MONROE, 

FIFTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

BORN  APRIL  28,  1758,  IN  WESTMORELAND  COUNTY,  Va  ;  PREBIDSNT 

MARCH  4,  1817  :  SERVED  8  YEARS  •  DIED  JULY  4   1831 


JOHN     QUINCY    ADAMS, 

SIXTH   PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 
BOKNIN  1767;    PRESIDENT  IN  1825;    SERVED  4  YEARS;   DIED  FEB  23,  1848 


THE   UNITED  STATES. 


383 


I     the  Spanish  capital,  Pensacola,  and  the  fort  of  St.  Marks,  in  West 
Jlonda,  also  accomplished  during  this  winter  campaign,  gave  occa- 

Ihe  Jatter  event  took  place  early  in  1818. 

Charges  of  having  exceeded  his  authority  by  these  unwarrantable 

^     acts  were  brought  agdnst  Jackson,  and  the  whole  sub]e     o    the 

Senjjnole  campaign  was  debated  at  length  in  congress     He  wal 

final  y  sustained  by  a  decided  majority  in  hi.  conduct^of  the  affll.^ 

:     question.     The  desire  of  government  to  maintain  peaceful  reiron 

.     with  Spam,  and  to  acquire  the  Fbridas  by  amicable  treaty,  had  been 

tZZ!  JeTf  t  ?'''  P^'^^  P""'^^'  '^  ^^^  U"^^^'^  St'a'tes  during 
the  struggle  of  the  former  country  with  her  revolted  American  col 

onies.     The  forces  of  tte  United  States  had  also  been  employed 

eniS  1^'^"  '-l  '°^  ''  ^'^'^^^  adventurers,  who,  Uile  threat- 
emng  the  Spanish  possessions  on  the  main,  were  engaged  in  the 
slave  trade,  in  smuggling,  and  in  general  depredation 

A  treaty,  providing  for  the  cession  of  Florida,  was  finally  concluded 
with  Spam  tov.ard  the  close  of  the  year  1820,  Ihe  UnitedTte  thus 
obtaming  an  acquisition  to  its  territory  of  greater  importance  in 
respect  to  position  than  to  intrinsic  value.    Meanwhile  ir^^I!in^ 
prosperity  attended  upon  the  enterprise  of  individuals  in    xtendl  ^ 
ivihzation  at  the  west  and  south.    Mississippi,  Illinois,  and  Alabama 
had  been  consecutively  admitted  to  the  Uni^n-^the  first  tn  1817 
he  second  in  1818,  and  the  third  in  1819.     Communi    t  on  w  th 
the  west  had  been  rendered  practicable  by  the  opening  of  the  Cum- 
erland  road,  a  national  work,  carried  out  in  consequent  of  arrangl 
.rjents  made  with  the  state  of  Ohio,  as  a  consideraln  for  thecessSn 
of  western  lands.     The  power  of  congress  in  respect  to  in  e  3 
unprovements,  other  than  those  necessarily  connected  wTth  pub]  c 
n  erpnse,  as  the  construction  of  military  roads,  the  erection  o^ 

^::^^^r----' '' '-'--''- '- "- Cs:f 

in  IsloTnd  S^'"*  '^"^^^•^f  ^-ght  before  congress  at  it«  sessions 
n  1820  and  1821  was  upon  the  admission  of  the  territory  of  Mis- 
souri  into  the  Union  as  a  sovereign  state.  The  introducZn  "of  an 
amendment  providing  for  the  exclusion  of  slavery  within Tlimits 
...  the  condition  upon  which  the  application  for  admission  should  be 
n  crtamed,  gave  occasion  for  the  most  excited  and  angry  disculn 
that  had  yet  resulted  from  any  issue  taken  between  .?/nor  hTd 
Vol.  IV— eh  —  ^9^"^  sud 


-53 


884 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  HISTORY, 


the  south.  The  matter  was  finally  adjusted,  by  admission  of  the  new 
state,  with  no  further  restriction  than  that  no  act  should  be  passed 
by  its  legislature  in  contravention  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  cit- 
izens emigrating  thither  from  otlier  states.  This  proviso  was  called 
for  by  a  clause  in  a  constitution  formed  by  the  people  of  the  terri- 
tory, providing  for  the  future  exclusion  of  free  negroes  and 
mulattoes. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  opposed  to  the  extension  of  southern  in- 
fluence and  institutions,  succeeded,  by  a  large  majority,  in  appending 
to  the  bill  a  proviso  that  thenceforth  slavery  should  be  prohibited  in 
the  territory  of  the  United  States  lying  north  of  the  parallel  of  thirty- 
six  degrees. thirty  minutes,  the  northern  boundary  of  the  present 
state  of  Arkansas.  The  separation  of  Maine  from  Massachusetts, 
and  its  admission  to  the  Union  was  effected  during  the  discussion  of 
the  Missouri  question. 

Mr.  Monroe,  shortly  after  his  entry  upon  a  second  official  term,  in 
1821,  appointed  Andrew  Jackson  to  the  office  of  governor  of  the 
new  territory  of  Florida.  In  dealing  with  the  Spanish  officials  whom 
he  was  called  upon  to  supersede,  the  proceedings  of  the  general  were, 
as  usual,  rather  high  handed.  The  keys  of  the  capitol  at  Pensacola 
were  formally  delivered  up  by  Jose  Cavalla,  the  Spanish  governor, 
on  the  seventh  of  July ;  a  refusal  or  neglect  on  his  part  to  deliver 
over  certain  public  documents  led  to  his  temporary  arrest  by  order 
of  Jackson. 

The  principal  political  events  during  the  closing  term  of  Monroe's 
administration,  were  the  recognition  of  the  independence  of  the 
republics  of  South  America;  a  treaty  with  England  for  the  more 
effectual  suppression  of  the  slave  trade;  a  settlement  of  the  boundary 
on  the  Pacific,  which  should  limit  future  settlements  by  liussia  or 
the  United  States;  and  a  protective  modification  of  the  tariff.  The 
last  measure  was  not  carried  without  vehement  opposition. 

In  1824:,  the  venerable  La  Fayette,  upon  express  invitation  ex- 
tended by  congress,  visited  the  United  Slates,  where  he  spent 
nearly  an  entire  year  in  making  a  general  tour  of  the  country. 
Throughout  his  journey  he  met  with  the  most  enthusiastic  reception, 
and  ere  his  departure,  he  received  substantial  tokens  of  the  gratitude 
of  the  nation,  in  the  grant  of  a  township  of  land,  and  the  sura  of 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  by  appropriation  of  congress. 

Tho  ascendency  of  republican  principles,  as  opposed  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  original  federal  party,  was  sufficiently  evinced  by  the 


TlliS   UNITED  STATES. 


885 


triumphant  election  of  three  successive  republican  presidents,  and 
the  retention  of  ofTice  by  each  of  them,  for  a  term  of  eight  years.  At 
the  election  in  1824,  new  elements  entered  into  the  political  contro- 
versy. Candidates  were  brought  forward  from  the  four  great  sec- 
tions of  the  Union:  New  England  was  represented  by  John  Quincy 
Adams,  son  of  the  second  president;  Virginia  by  Mr.  Crawford- 
the  south  by  Andrew  Jackson;  and  the  west  by  Henry  Clay' 
Adams  and  Jackson  were  the  prominent  candidates,  but,  as  neither 
obtained  a  majority,  the  election  devolved,  a  second  time,  upon  the 
house  of  representatives.  The  former  was  chosen  president,  although 
Jackson  had  received  a  larger  number  of  popular  votes. 

During  the  four  years  of  Adams'  administration,  the  country 
remained  at  peace  with  all  foreign  nations.  The  messages  to  con- 
gress and  other  public  addresses  of  the  piesident,  excited  general 
admiration  by  their  ability,  and  the  dignity,  integrity,  and  firm- 
ness which  they  exhibited.  In  accordance  with  principles  set  forth 
in  his  inaugural  address.  President  Adams  displayed  great  mod- 
eration in  the  exercise  of  his  powers  of  removal,  considering  it  a 
matter  of  gross  impropriety  that  the  offices  of  government  should 
be  bestowed  as  rewards  for  party  services,  or  as  mere  tokens  of 
personal  favour. 

Toward  the  close  of  this  administration,  the  revival  of  the  dispute 
respecting  a  protective  tariff  renewed  all  the  former  antagonism 
between  the  north  and  the  south.  The  law  passed  relative  to  this 
subject,  was  finally  so  altered  and  amended  as  to  favour  the  interests 
of  the  manufacturing  states.  The  presidential  election,  recurring  at 
this  period,  gave  occasion  for  a  display  of  party  violence  and  ani- 
mosity seldom  before  witnessed  in  America.  The  result  was  the 
choice  of  Andrew  Jackson  for  president,  and  of  John  C.  Calhoun 
of  South  Carolina,  for  vice-president.  The  inauguration  took  place 
March  4th,  1829.  ^ 

A  writer  in  Lardner's  Cyclopaedia,  says  of  this  result,  "Jackson 
had  been  the  rude  soldier;  ever  ready  to  outstep  the  bounds  of 
legality;  fierce  in  his  manners  and  declarations;  breathing  war  and 
defiance.  The  fears  that  his  election  would  prove  the  signal,  not 
only  of  hostilities  with  foreign  powers,  but  usurpation  or  violence 
at  home,  were  general;  yet  the  same  popular  breath  that  wafted 
Jackson  to  the  presidency,  impressed  upon  him  at  the  same  time  so 
strong  a  sense  of  his  duty,  that  metal  in  the  furnace  could  not  take 
a  newer  or  softer  temper  than  the  new  president."     That  he  had, 


886 


THK  PKOPLE'8    BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


however,  lost  nothing  of  his  former  firmness,  is  evident  from  the 
■whole  course  of  his  administration. 

The  late  amendment  in  the  tariff  produced  great  excitement 
and  opposition  throughout  the  southern  states.  South  Carolina 
took  the  lead  in  denouncing  the  alleged  partiality  of  the  system, 
and  in  maintaining  the  principles  of  a  forcible  assertion  of  righta 
on  the  part  of  those  states  aggrieved  by  its  operation.  The 
speech  of  Hayne,  in  the  United  States  senate,  upon  this  topic,  called 
forth  from  the  great  orator  and  statesman,  Daniel  Webster  a 
reply  which  has  ever  been  considered  one  of  his  ablest  and  most 
forcible  efforts. 

When  this  feeling  finally  broke  out  into  an  open  determination,  on 
the  part  of  the  state  of  South  Carolina,  as  expressed  by  a  convention 
called  by  a  majority  of  its  electors,  to  resist  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  in  the  collection  of  revenues,  the  president  took  a 
firm  and  decided  position.  By  his  proclamation  of  December  10th, 
1832,  he  expressed  a  fixed  determination  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the 
executive,  by  carrying  out  the  laws  of  the  United  States  at  all 
hazards.  At  the  same  time,  no  unnecessary  violence  of  languaf^e 
was  made  use  of,  but  the  state  of  South  Carolina  was  called  upon 
in  persuasive  and  moderate  tones  to  preclude  the  necessity  for  coer- 
cive measures,  by  a  voluntary  renunciation  of  the  treasonable  doc- 
trines recently  made  manifest. 

Immediate  preparations  were  commenced  for  warlike  operations 
— should  such  prove  inevitable — by  garrisoning  and  strengthening 
the  forts  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour  of  Charleston.  The  party 
in  South  Carolina  opposed  to  the  attempted  nullification  of  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  being  a  large  minority,  made  renewed  exertions, 
at  this  crisis,  to  avert  the  threatened  calamity.  A  modification  of 
the  tariff,  introduced  and  carried  in  congress  by  Mr.  Clay,  by  way 
of  compromise,  allayed  the  angry  feeling  at  the  south,  and  put  an 
end  to  threats  of  secession. 

Jackson  was  reelected  at  the  close  of  his  first  term,  Martin  Van 
Buren  being,  at  the  same  time,  chosen  vice-president.  During  the 
whole  period  of  his  retention  of  oflice,  the  credit  of  the  country  was 
maintained  with  foreign  nations.  In  July,  1831,  an  arrangement, 
long  postponed,  was  concluded  with  France,  by  which  a  specified 
indemnity  was  secured  for  former  depredations  upon  American 
commerce.  The  most  important  domestic  transactions  of  this  admin- 
istration related  to  Indian  affairs.     Those  'vbich  aroused  the  greatest 


THE  UNITED   STATES. 


387 


degree  of  party  strife  were  connected  with  the  proceedings  of  the 

president  concerning  the  United  States  Bank       ^  °''''''"^'  °^  '^^ 

Deemmg  this  institution,  if  not  of  unconstitutional  inception  at 

made  use  of  the  veto  power  to  annul  the  action  of  congress  gran  in <. 
a  renewal  of  its  charter.  In  the  year  following.  (1833)  the  pS^ 
ordered  a  withdrawal  of  the  public  funds  from  this  bi  cth  n   hi 

banks-  pet  banks,"  as  they  were  denominated  by  the  opposition 
In  carrying  out  this  measure,  during  a  recess  of  congress  JacW 
removed  from  the  office  of  secretary  of  the  treasury,  m1  oJane  who 
had  declmed  to  second  his  views,  and  appointed  Mr.  Taney     A 
vote  of  censure  was  passed  by  the  senate  relative  to  this  prLe^ 

7^z;tZm.^'  --^^^-'  ^"--  ^^— ^^  e/pu:;i, 

To  the  president's  hostility  towards  the  bank,  many  have  attri- 
bated  us  ultimate  downfall,  and,  in  no  small  measure,  the  commerci^ 
crisis  which  gave  so  ruinous-but  perhaps  benefic  al-a  Xck  to 
the  speculative  mania  of  the  period.     The  effect  of  the  failure  of  thl! 
mt  1  T'    .T'  '''^'f "'  '^^°  -^gg-^ted,  and,  for  the  ca^se,  we 

ir^slTnedT  '^:  ™^^°'^^  '"^"^s^^^'  -^  'o  ---- 

ZZ  r  T  \  '^"  ''^"'"^'  "P°"  ^^"°»«  pretexts,  of  several 
states  to  make  good  their  liabilities 

ofTi'u-^^''*''^'^''  '"'"''^^^  "^^'^^  ^^'^^^'^  *"be8  to  lands  westward 
of  the  Mi^issippi,  was  long  a  matter  of  great  difficulty,  and,  in  the 
districts  where  these  races  were  located,  of  engrossing  interes  .  The 
^nding  ground  of  contention  was  a  disavowal  by^he  Mans  of 

thetribes     In  18ol,  a  portion  of  the  tribe  of  Sacs,  of  Illinois  headed 

on  tckt    '  ^t ''^"''  "'^"'  *^  ^^°^°-  '•--  *^--^  -"1--^ 
bwT  /  w  •     u'^  ""'''  "^P^"^^   by  force,  although  without 

ttrXa-;:. ''' ''-'  '^"^^^"^'  """^^-^  «^  *^-  -™^  - 

Blood  wa.s  first  shed  by  the  whites-it  appears,  upon  very  insuffi 
cent  occasion;   and.  the  war  once  commenced; Black  H.wk  and 
his  warriors  were  signally  successful  in  several  stirmishes.   Finally 
worn  ou   by  fatigue,  hard  fare,  and  exposure,  they  were  cut  off  and 

T^bITT^^  ^^  '  '"^^  '^"^'  ""^-  «--^I  Atkinson 
to  the  n    .  rf '    f  '''T'  ^"*  ^"bsequently  surrendered  himself 
to  the  United  States'  authorities.    He  was  detained  as  a  hostage 


888 


THK   I'KOPLK'H   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


until  Juno,  1883,  when  lio  wns  Hot  at  liberty.  In  company  with 
other  Indian  chiefs,  he  visited  niiiny  of  the  eastern  cities,  every 
where  exciting  much  attention  and  curioaity. 

Many  of  the  southern  tribes  wore  induced  to  emigrate  peaceably; 
the  greatest  difTiculty  was  in  dealing  with  the  Cherokees  and  Semi- 
noles.  The  former,  to  the  number  of  about  eighteen  thousand,  were 
mostly  Ideated  in  the  northern  part  of  Georgia.  HMiey  had  made 
great  advances  in  civilization,  and  were  governed  by  a  legislation 
of  their  own.  The  United  States  had  stipulated,  in  1802,  with  the 
state  of  Georgia,  to  extinguish  the  title  of  the  Cherokees  to  lands 
within  that  jurisdiction,  "as  early  as  the  same  could  be  peaceably 
obtained  upon  reasonable  terms." 

Ellbrta  to  oifoct  a  removal  of  the  tribe  had  been  partially  success- 
ful, but  the  Georgia  legishiture,  impatient  at  delay,  in  182-i,  passed 
sundry  acts — pronounced  unconstitutional  by  many  able  jurists- 
encroaching  upon  the  rights  and  personal  privileges  of  the  Indiana. 
]''inding  their  position  insecure,  a  large  party  of  the  Cherokees, 
headed  by  Major  Ridge,  favoured  an  emigration  of  the  whole  nation. 
Those  of  this  opinion  attended  a  council,  called  in  1835,  and  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  J.  T.  Schermerhorn,  commissioner  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States,  by  which  it  was  agreed  that,  upon  the  receipt 
of  reasonable  compensntion  for  the  losses  necessarily  sustained  upon 
removal,  the  whole  tribe  should  emigrate  westward  of  the  Mississippi. 

A  military  force  was  called  into  requisition  to  compel  submission 
to  the  terms  of  this  treaty;  but  the  Indians,  although  denyii;g  the 
authority  of  those  who  had  undertaken  to  act  for  the  tribe,  made  no 
overt  resistance.  The  Georgian  Cherokees,  removed  to  the  western 
territory,  have  continued  to  prosper,  pursuing  the  arts  of  agriculture, 
and  improving  in  civilization  and  education.  The  Choctaws,  Chick- 
asaws,  and  Creeks,  occupying  separate  tracts  assigned  them  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  have  also,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  adopted  the 
customs  of  the  white?. 


THK   UNITED  BTATEH.  339 


CEAPTEH   I?  I. 

THE  REMINOLK  WAR.  —  EAllLT   HlflTOUY   OP   THE   PTORIDA   IN- 
DIANS.—  WAR  OF    IHIH.  —  INDIAN   TREATY   OF   IH2;):   OE   18ft2, 
—  REFUSAL  OP  THE  SEMINOI.EH  TO   REMOVE.  —  DESTRUCTION 
OP   DADE'S   DETACHMENT.  — MILITARY   OPERATIONS  OP 
GENERALS   SCOTT   AND   JKSSIJI'.  —  UNSATISFACTORY 
RESULTS   OP   NEOOTIATION  — EXPEDITIONS  OF   COL- 
ONELS TAYLOR  AND  H  A  RN  EY.— 0  RA  DU  A  L  CESSA- 
TION OP  HOSTILITIES.  —  RECENT  DIFFICULTIES. 


FiiOM  the  time  of  the  conquest  by  De  Soto,  to  the  acquisition  of 
the  territory  of  Florida  by  the  United  States,  the  peninsula  contin- 
ued a  theatre  for  scenes  of  desultory  but  ferocious  warfare.  In  the 
bloody  contests  between  the  French  and  Spanish  settlers,  the  unfor- 
tunate aborigines  were  ruinously  involved;  their  agricultural  pur- 
fluits  were  interrupted,  and  their  numbers  were  greatly  reduced  by 
warfare,  and  the  want  attendant  upon  their  unsettled  condition. 

According  to  their  usual  custom,  the  Spaniards,  while  they  con- 
tinued to  oppress  and  destroy  the  original  proprietors  of  the  soil, 
were  not  v/anting  in  endeavours  to  promote  their  spiritual  welfare. 
From  St.  Augustine,  numbers  of  zealous  ecclesiastics  were  sent  forth 
among  the  Indians.  Both  within  the  limits  of  the  present  state  of 
Florida,  and  far  in  the  wilderness  of  the  north  and  west,  these  wor- 
thy mi.ssionaries  devoted  their  lives  to  the  instruction  of  the  natives 
in  their  religious  faith,  and  in  the  arts  of  civilization. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  principal 
tribes  of  Florida  were  the  hostile  nations  of  the  Yemasses  and  the 
Appalucheea;  but  after  the  northern  portion  of  the  peninsula  wa.s 
overrun  by  the  invading  forces  of  Governor  Moore,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, these  reduced  and  scattered  natives  united  and  moved  farther 
southward.  From  this  period  they  wore  known  as  Seminoles  ("  wan- 
derers"). Causes  of  quarrel  continued  to  exist  between  them  and 
the  white  settlers  of  the  border:  fugitive  slaves  from  the  northern 
plantations  found  an  asylum  among  the  Indians,  and  mutual  wrongs 
and  outrages  kept  alive  the  old  feelings  of  hostility.  At  the  period 
of  the  cession  of  Florida  to  the  United  States,  the  Indians  had  flour- 
ishing settlements  in  West  Florida,  particularly  upon  the  St.  Marks 


890 


TIIK  l'KOPLE'8  BOOK  OF  HISTORY. 


and  Oscilla  rivers,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  lake  of  Miccosukie. 
Their  inroads  had  become  so  frequent  and  dangerous,  that  it  was 
dotormincd  to  break  up  their  quarters  in  this  region,  and  in  March  of 
1818,  th.c.ic  .'i.Wlcinenta  were  laid  waste  by  an  army  of  several  tljon- 
sand  UiPy,  undtn  General  Jackson,  and  the  inhabitants  were  driven 
to  Kast  Floii.Ia  and  into  the  interior.  Five  years  later,  on  the  IBth 
of  September,  1828,  a  treaty,  known  as  the  treaty  of  Moultrie  creek 
was  effected  by  United  States'  commissioners  with  upwards  of  thirty 
of  the  Seminole  chiefs,  the  principal  provisions  of  which  were  for 
confining  the  Indians  to  a  specified  district  in  the  interior.  Mutual 
complaints  were  Kti''  juuuo  b_y  the  Indians  and  frontier  whites  of 
reciprocal  injuries,  and  the  removal  of  the  Suininoles  from  Florida 
was  strenuously  advocated. 

In  1832,  on  the  8th  of  Mav,  another  conference  was  held  by 
United  States'  agents  with  about  fifteen  of  the  Indian  chiefs,  at 
Payne's  landing,  on  the  Ocklawaha  river.  A  grant  of  lands  west  of 
the  Mississippi  was  promised  by  the  United  States,  together  with 
a  pecuniary  compen.sation  for  the  loss  attendant  upon  the  abandon- 
ment of  their  old  settlements,  if  the  Indians  would  consent  to  remove- 
an  offer  which  the  Seminole  chiefs  accepted  in  behalf  of  their  people, 
conditionally  upon  the  new  lands  proving  acceptable  upon  examin- 
ation, by  some  of  their  own  emissaries.  The  removal  was  to  take 
place  in  three  years'  time.  The  nation  at  large  was  averse  to  this 
treaty,  and  as  the  time  for  its  completion  drew  near,  no  disposition 
was  evinced  to  abide  by  it.  The  warriors,  denying  the  authority 
of  the  chiefs  who  had  undertaken  to  bind  them,  or  dissatisfied  with 
the  report  of  the  deputation,  commenced  a  systematic  purchase  and 
accumulation  of  arms  and  military  stores,  with  the  determination  to 
maintain  possession  of  the  homes  of  their  forefathers. 

Open  hostilities  commenced  in  the  month  of  October,  1835,  when 
two  Indians  were  killed  in  a  fray  near  Miccosukie.  Their  death 
was  revenged  by  the  murder  of  the  mail  carrier  between  Tampa 
Bay  and  Fort  King,  whose  mangled  body  was  found,  shortly  after, 
upon  the  road  between  the  station.^.  The  disposition  of  the  Indians 
was  further  manifested  by  their  putting  to  death  two  chiefs,  named 
John  Hicks  and  Charley  Amathlu,  who  had  favoured  the  treaty 
of  Payne's  landing.  Prominent  among  the  belligerent  party,  was 
the  young  quadroon,  Osceola,  commonly  called  by  the  name  of  his 
supposed  father,  an  Englishman,  named  Powel. 
The  numbers  and  warlike  character  of  the  Seminoles,  seem  to 


ANDREW    JACKSON 

SKVEM'H   PKKSinENT  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

BORN  IN  1767  :    f  KKSIDENT  IN  1820  .    HKKVED  6  YKAKa  ;    DIKD  JDNB  4,  1P46 
FnOM  THE   LAST  PAINTING   TAKEN   PHEVIOUS   TO  HIS   DECEASE. 


BORN  IN 


MARTiy     VAX    HHkEA, 

mnvrn   pkesidknt  of  thk  uxitku  .states. 

BOKN  IN  ITbJ;    JMSTALLtU  INTO  O^'FICIC  IN  Ib.W  ,    aiiKVIilJ  4  YtAuS 


" 

1 

i 

; 

j      have  bee 

■      importan 

'      with  mor 

I      States'  in 

to  join  tl 

Not  far  1 

beset  by 

Seminole 

themselvc 

repelling 

but  their 

and  pick 

from  thei 

supposed, 

shortly  afl 

back,  and 

men  on  th 

a  place  of 

The  wai 

lated  and  < 

took  place 

about  six  1 

troops,  an( 

General  CI 

own  head- 

the  loss  of 

the  remain 

the  plantai 

abandoned 

were  in  a  c 

with  a  pov 

operations 

quito  inlet. 

The  folk 

campaign  ii 

ern  Seminc 

was  plain,  1 

cope  with  8 

avoided  con 

unimportan 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


391 


"1 


I      have  been  greatly  underrated,  and  the  lamentable  result  of  tne  first 
I      important  engagement  excited  universal  astonishment.    Major  Dade 
w.th  more  than  one  hundred  men,  including  a  company  of  UmteJ 

I     to  tl  'fF'  "'  Tn  ''"'"  '''™P^  ^'•^^'  ^"  *b«  --'l^  of  December, 

toon  the  lorces  of  General  Clinch,  at  Fort  King,  in  the  interior 

Not  far  from  the  forks  of  the  Ouithlacoochee,  the  command  was 

beset  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  led  by  Micanopy,  the  principal 

Semmole  ch,ef,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Jumper.    The  troops  defend^^ 

themselves  with   great  resolution  and  bravery,  and  succee.led  in 

repe  hng  the  enemy,  and  in  erecting  a  slight  barricade  of  pine-lo-^s- 

but  the.r  opponents  were  in  sufficient  force  to  be  able  to  surround 

and  pick  them  off  at  their  leisure,  firing  from  behind  the  trees  and 

from  the.r  lurkmg  places  among  the  wire-grass.     Having,  as  they 

supposed    destroyed  the  entire  company,  the  Indians  retired;  but 

shortly  afterward  a  party  of  negroes  arrived  at  the  spot  on  horse- 

back,  and  finished  the  murderous  work  by  knocking  the  wounded 

men  on  the  head.     Only  three  of  the  whole  detachment  ever  reached 

a  place  of  safety :  these  had  been  left  for  dead  upon  the  field 

I  he  war  had  now  fairly  commenced,  and  the  destruction  of  iso- 
ated  and  exposed  plantations  speedily  followed.    Various  skirmishes 
took  place  and  on  the  31st  of  the  month,  Osceola,  at  the  head  of 
about  SIX  hundred  Indians,  attacked  a  body  of  two  hundred  regular 
troops,  and  a  company  of  Florida  voluntoers,  under  command  of 
General  Clinch,  while  on  their  march  from  Fort  Drane  towards  his 
own  head-quartors.     The  Indians  were  defeated,  but  not  without 
the  loss  of  over  fifty  men  on  the  part  of  the  whites.     Throughout 
the  remainder  of  the  winter,  the  Seminoles  continued  their  ravacres- 
the  plantations  ,f  the  interior  were   mostly  destroyed,  after  be°inc^ 
abandoned  by  their  occupants.     The  settlements  of  all  East  Florida 
were  in  a  condition  of  great  danger  and  distress.     The  noted  Philip 
with  a  powerful  body  of  warriors,  corducted  the  most  important 
operations  in  that  quarter,  and  destroyed  New  Smyrna,  upon  Mos- 
quito inlet,  together  with  the  plantations  on  Halifax  river 

The  following  spring  (1836)  was  memorable  for  General  Scott's 
campaign  in  Florida.  With  a  strong  force,  he  penetrated  the  north- 
ern Seminole  districts,  sweeping  the  ccbntry  in  three  columns  It 
was  plain,  however,  that  the  Indians  had  no  idea  of  attempting  to 
cope  with  such  formidable  enemies  in  open  warfare.  They  ea°sily 
avoided  coming  to  any  general  engagement,  and  a  troublesome,  but 
unimportant  skirmishing  comprised  all  the  belligerent  opprat;-n=  .p 


J 


r 


892 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF   UISTOKY. 


the  campaign.  As  the  season  advanced,  the  unhealthiness  of  the 
climate  prevented  active  operations:  volunteers  were  discharged, 
forts  were  evacuated,  and  the  savages  were  at  liberty  during  the 
whole  summer  to  continue  a  desultory  system  of  murder  and  plunder. 
In  September,  a  large  army,  under  Governor  Call,  was  again  marched 
against  the  subtle  and  fugitive  enemy,  and  they  were  again  driven 
southward  towards  the  impenetrable  asylum  offered  to  them  by  the 
unexplored  and  marshy  wilderness  of  the  Everglades.  There  were, 
at  this  time,  several  hundred  Creek  auxiliaries  in  the  United  States' 
service  in  Florida,  headed  by  their  chiefs,  Paddy  Carr  and  Jem  Boy. 
With  a  mixed  array  of  these  friendly  Indians  and  white  soldiery. 
Colonel  Lane-  undertook  a  campaign  to  the  southward,  in  the  month 
of  October.  He  drove  the  Seminoles  from  the  villages  where  they 
had  hitherto  dwelt  secure  and  unmolested,  and  defeated  and  dis- 
persed those  who  attempted  to  oppose  his  progress. 

In  the  following  month  two  engagements  took  place  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  extensive  Wahoo  swamp.  The  American  army  concen- 
trated in  that  vicinity  numbered  more  than  two  thousand  men,  a 
force  sufficient  to  overwhelm  the  undisciplined  enemy  in  open  field, 
but  unable,  nevertheless,  to  effect  any  thing  of  importance  in  a  district 
where  the  Indians  could  so  readily  betake  themseves  to  places  of 
retreat  and  concealment. 

Within  a  few  weeks  after  these  events,  the  main  body  of  the  Sem- 
inoles were  ascertained  to  have  deserted  their  old  haunts,  and  to 
have  moved  southward  towards  the  Everglades.  On  the  22d  of 
January,  (1837,)  General  Jessup,  then  commander-in-chief  of  the 
forces  in  Florida,  started  in  pursuit,  with  a  strong  force.  A  number 
of  prisoners  were  taken  at  the  encampment  of  tlie  Seminole  chief 
Osuchee,  on  Ahapopka  lake,  at  the  source  of  the  Ocklawaha,  and  the 
trail  of  the  fugitives  was  followed  southward.  A  consid.5j.1ble  force 
of  Indian  warriors  was  di.-^pcrsed,  and  driven  to'  take  refage  in  the 
morass  upon  the  Ilatchee  Lustee  creek,  and  on  the  follov.'ing  day, 
being  the  28th  of  the  month,  a  prisoner  was  sent  to  proposi^  to  the 
Seminole  chiefs  a  meeting  for  conference.  This  was  finally  brought 
about  by  the  influence  of  Abraham,  a  quick-witted  negro,  who  offi- 
ciated as  Micanopy's  chief  counsellor.  The  18th  of  February  was 
appointed  for  a  meeting  to  be  held  at  Fort  Dade,  on  the  Big  Ouith- 
lacoochee.  Thus  ended  the  campaign,  and  the  invading  army  pro- 
ceeded northward. 

A  truce  had  been  agreed  upon  until  the  time  for  concluding  the 


THE    UN1TE1>    STATES. 


893 


treaty,  but  information  as  to  this  arrangement  was  not  disseminated 
with  sufficient  promptness  to  put  an  immediate  stop  to  hostilities. 
Philip,  with  some  hundreds  of  his  warriors,  made  a  vain  attack  upon 
the  encampment  at  Lake  Monroe,  in  command  of  Colonel  Fanning, 
and  garrisoned  by  regulars,  volunteers,  and  a  party  of  Creeks.  When 
the  meeting  appointed  at  Fort  Dade  was,  after  some  delays,  brought 
about,  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing  was,  in  effect,  renewed,  and 
days  were  fixed  for  the  assembling  of  the  Indians  at  Tampa  Bay,  in 
order  to  embark  on  board  government  ves-sels.  It  was  soon  apparent, 
however,  that  they  had  no  idea  of  leaving  the  country.  The  war- 
like and  subtle  Osceola  exerted  his  influence  over  the  old  King 
Micanopy,  to  prevent  compliance  with  the  treaty,  and  either  by  force 
or  persuasion  induced  him  to  withdraw,  with  his  followers',  from 
Tampa  Bay  to  the  interior.  The  spring  had  passed  away,  and 
nothing  was  accomplished;  the  heat  of  summer  began  to  tell  upon 
the  troops,  and  Forts  Mellon  and  Volusia  were  abandoned;  so  that 
throughout  the  south-eastern  portion  of  the  peninsula  the  Indians  had 
undisputed  possession  of  the  whole  country. 

In  the  month  of  September,  active  operations  were   renewed 
Philip,  his  son,  the  Chief  Uchee  BiHy,  and  about  one  hundred  of 
their  company,  were  captured  near  St.  Augustine,  and  other  notable 
warriors,  weary  of  hopeless  warfare,  surrendered  themselves  in  other 
districts.     Troops  had  been  poured  into  Florida  until  the  United 
States'  force  amounted  to  between  eight  and  nine  thousand  men, 
but  notwithstanding  this  overwhelming  preponderance  of  numbers 
over  those  of  the  Indians,  no  prospect  of  a  termination  of  the  war 
seemed  open.     Tinder  these  circumstances,  the  repeated  breaches  of 
faith  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  appeared  to  the  commander-in-chief 
a  sufficient  excuse  for  treating  them  as  savages  unworthy  tlie  protec- 
tion afforded  by  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare.     Osceola,  Alligator, 
and  six  others  in  authority  among  the  natives  were  seized,  togetke'r 
with  many  of  their  followers,  near  Fort  Peyton,  whither  they  had 
come  for  the  purpose  of  a  parley. 

The  next  expedition  of  importance  was  that  of  Colonel  Zachary 
Taylor,  who  led  a  force  of  about  six  hundred  men  into  the  heart  of 
the  enemy's  country.  He  pushed  his  way  to  the  borders  of  the 
Everglades,  and  encountered  the  objects  of  his  search  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  Kissimee  lake.  Thus  attacked  in  their  own  quartore,  and 
in  a  manner  at  bay,  the  savages  fought  desperately.  They  main- 
tained  their  ground  with  determined  couraee,  .ind  althou£?h  finall- 


JiM. 


894 


TIIK    I'KOPLE'B    HOOK   OK   H18T0UY. 


defcatod  and  driven  into  tlic  svvumps,  their  loss  was  smaller  than 
that  of  their  assailants.  Twenty-eight  of  Colonel  Taylor's  j)artv 
were  killed,  and  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  eleven  were  wounded. 

In  the  eourse  of  the  ensuing  winter  great  numbers  of  the  Indians 
worn  out  by  exposure  and  famine,  and  hopeless  of  maintaining  their 
ground,  surreiuhired  at  diseretion.  These  were,  for  the  most  part, 
shipped  westward.  Although  no  longer  acting  in  eombined  and 
systenuitic  warliire,  those  who  remained  continued  toseoiir  the  (coun- 
try, ami  to  murder  and  j)lunder  wherever  opportunity  offered.  This 
state  of  things  continued  through  the  years  of  1838,  '9,  and  MO. 
In  December  of  the  latter  year,  Colonel  Harney  jjcnetrated  the  Ever- 
glades by  means  of  boats,  and  surjirised  the  encampment  of  the 
chief  Chaikika.  The  detiiil;!  of  tlie  varioius  marauiling  expeditions 
of  the  Indians,  and  their  skirmislias  with  detached  bodies  ol'  troops 
would  occupy  too  much  space  Cor  further  recital.  Tlie  war  did  not 
end  by  any  coup  dn  main.  The  savages  were  gradually  so  far 
reduced  in  numbers  by  capture  or  surrender  that  they  ceased  to  bo 
formidable.    I'our  hundred  were  ship[)ud  westward  in  the  year  1812, 

Those  who  still  remain  in  possession  of  the  interior  of  Southern 
FK)rida,  number,  as  is  supposed,  from  three  to  five  hundred.  With 
this  feeble  remnant  of  the  powerful  nation  which  it  cost  such 
immense  expenditure  of  life  and  treasure  to  subdue,  difliculties 
have  recently  been  renewed,  and  there  is  too  much  reason  to  fear 
that  our  nation  will  again  be  disgraced  by  a  war  in  which  the  power 
of  the  United  States  may  be  exerted  in  vain  endeavours  to  ferret 
out  and  extirpate  a  few  miserable  savages  from  an  unknown  and 
unexplored  wilderaei-s. 


mailer  than 
ylor'H  party 
ro  womidod. 
Llio  liuliarw, 
aiiiiiig  their 
I  iiioKt  part, 
nbincd  and 
ir  tho  (!oun- 
I'orod.  This 
'!),  and  MO. 
sd  tho  Ever- 
iKMit  of  the 
oxpoditions 
L's  of  troops 
war  did  not 
lally  so  far 
joafied  to  ho 
!  year  1812. 
)f  Southern 
red.  With 
t  cost  such 
,  diniculties 
\sou  to  fear 
1  the  power 
rs  to  ferret 
know  a  and 


""^.i^jjjg^ 


O  S  C  F.  O  A  .1 . 


i*-:~ 


THE    UNlTliD   BTATKS.  ggg 


CHAPTEE  ITU. 

TJ!!"''^'"'''   °'    '""'   ''^'^^    FINANCIAL   PRE88UO:   THK 

8UB-TREA8URy:    CANADIAN   REVOLT:    THE  NORT  H-E  A8TK  H  N 

BOUNDARY:   THE   APFAIR  OP   THE   A  MI8TA  D.-„  A  ttRISOX 

AND   TYLER:    BANKRUPT   LAW:    PREEMPTION:    THE  VETo" 

POWER:     TARIFF.  — ADMISSION    OP    TEXAS. 

Martin  Van  Buren  was  elected  president,  and  Eichard  M 
Johnson  vice-president,  for  the  term  commencing  March  4th  ISSt" 
Ihis  year  was  memorable  for  the  most  remarkable  and  exJensive 
pecuniaxy  pressure  ever  felt  by  the  country,  except  when  directly 
.subjected  to  the  burden  of  war.  In  compliance  with  a  circular 
order  issued  from  the  treasury  department  in  1835,  government 
dues  were  demanded  to  be  paid  in  gold  or  silver.  Specie  was  thus 
drawn  from  circulation  to  a  vast  extent,  and  a  general  stoppage  of 
payment  w;as  resorted  to  by  the  banks,  as  the  only  remedy  for  the 
uHceasmg  dram  upon  their  resources.  This  procedure  was  directly 
encouraged  by  the  legislatures  of  several  states. 

At  a  special  session  of  congress,  held  in  September,  the  president 
with  the  concurrence  of  Mr.  Woodbury,  secretary  of  the  treasury' 
representing  the  existing  impossibility  of  compliance  with  the  act  of 
congress,  which  required  a  deposit  of  the  public  moneys  in  specie- 
paying  banks,  proposed  a  new  plan  for  the  security  of  these  funds 
known  as  the  "sub-treasury"  scheme.     This  was  the  establishmen; 
of  separate  places  of  deposit  in  different  parts  of  the  Union  so  dis- 
tributed as  to  diminish  the  expense  and  risk  of  transportation  of 
specie-thc  intention  of  government  still  re.naining  to  insist  upon 
adherence  to  the  principles  upon  which  the  specie  circular  was  based 
A  bill  for  this  purpose  was  carried  in  the  senate,  but  failed  in  the 
house.     To  meet  the  expenses  of  government,  treasury  notes  were 
ordered  to  be  issued,  and  an  instalment  of  the  surplus  revenue 
already  ordered  for  distribution  among  the  states,  was  retained     li 
was  long  before  the  merciintile  community  recovered  from  the  unset- 
tled state  of  aflliirs  at  this  period.     The  banks  did  not  resume  specie 
payments  until  August  of  the  year  following,  when  an  agreement 
for  that  purpose  went  into  operation  simultaneously  throu^rhout 
the  principal  states.     Meanwhile,  the  ruin  of  thousands  had\een 


896 


THE  PEOPLK'S   COOK   OF   HISTORY. 


accomplished,  and   general   distrust  and   uncertainty  attended  all 
commercial  transactions. 

In  December,  1837,  certain  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern 
frontier  became  involved  in  the  Canadian  revolt  which  broke  out  in 
that  year.  A  large  number  of  those  favouring  the  insurgents  occu- 
pied and  fortified  Navy  island,  in  the  Niagara  river.  The  steamer 
Caroline,  employed  to  convey  stores,  &c.,  to  the  island,  was  seized  at 
Schlosser,  on  the  American  shore,  on  the  night  of  December  29th,  by 
a  party  from  the  Canadian  shore,  was  set  on  fire,  and  sent  over  the 
falls.  One  man  attached  to  the  steamer,  named  Durfee,  was  killed  in 
the  fray,  others  were  wounded,  and  several  were  said  to  be  missing. 
The  interference  of  Americans  with  Canadian  affairs  received  no 
countenance  from  government,  but  the  irregular  manner  in  which 
retaliation  was  conducted,  and  the  invasion  of  our  territory  by  the 
attack  on  the  Caroline,  were  matters  of  difficult  adjustment.. 

In  the  year  1838,  serious  difficulties  arose  upon  the  north-eastern 
border  of  New  England.  The  boundary  line  between  the  British 
provinces  and  the  state  of  Maine  was  unsettled,  and  negotiation  was 
then  in  progress  for  its  final  establishment.  The  state  authorities 
unwilling  to  await  the  protracted  action  of  the  general  government 
resorted  to  forcible  measures  for  the  arrest  of  encroachment,  by 
individuals,  upon  that  portion  of  the  disputed  territory  then  under 
their  actual  jurisdiction. 

The  state  land-agent,  despatched,  with  a  small  company,  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  cutting  of  timber  by  these  trespassers,  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  latter,  and  carried  into  New  Brunswick.  Other  officials 
were  promptly  commissioned  to  maintain  the  rights  claimed  by  the 
state,  and,  with  a  body  of  armed  men,  proceeded  to  the  scene  of 
disturbance.  The  consequence  of  such  belligerent  movements  nat- 
urally was  to  create  great  excitement  on  the  border,  which  soon 
extended  throughout  the  United  States.  In  the  discussion  of  the 
onestion,  by  correspondence  between  the  governors  of  Maine  and 
New  Brunswick,  much  exacerbation  of  feeling  was  evident. 

The  matter  was  laid  before  congress,  in  the  month  of  Febniary, 
ill  a  message  from  the  pre^lident,  and  such  action  was  taken  as 
resulted  in  averting  the  threatened  hostilities,  and  in  preserving  the 
existing  occupation  of  either  party  until  the  whole  question  in  dis- 
pute could  be  definitely  settled.  General  Scott  was  specially  com- 
missioned to  proceed  to  the  debatable  ground,  and  take  measures 
for  i)reventing  any  further  collision.    Necessary  precautions  were 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


897 


allowed  to  be  taken  by  the  authorities  of  the  state  of  Maine  to  guard 
against  a  continuance  of  depredation,  in  the  interim;  but  this  was 
directed  to  be  accomplished  by  the  civil  authority,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  an  armed  force. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  occurrences  during  the  following  year 
(1839,)  as  connected  with  our  foreign  relations,  was  the  seizure  of 
the  Spanish  schooner  Amistad.     She  was  captured  and  brought 
into  New  London  in  the  month  of  August,  by  a  United  States' 
vessel,  under  the  following  circumstances:  "On  board  of  her  were 
two  white  men,  Spaniards,  Jose  Ruiz  and  Pedro  Montez,  and  fifty- 
four  African  negroes,  under  command  of  one  of  their  own  number 
whose  name  was  Cinquez.     The  Amistad,  it  appeared  from  subse- 
quent investigations,  had  sailed  from  Havana,  in  the  island  of  Cuba 
for  another  port  in  the  West  India  islands,  with  a  cargo  of  mer- 
chandise, and  the  Africans  on  board,  claimed  as  slaves  by  the  two 
Spaniards,  Euiz  and  Montez.     After  having  been  four  nights  at  sea 
the  negroes  rose  upon  the  whites,  killed  the  captain  and  crew,  took 
possession  of  the  schooner,  and,  in  endeavouring  to  return  to  Africa 
were  at  length  found  conveyed  to  the  shores  of  Long  Island."*       ' 
Proceedings  were  instituted  against  these  negroes  i°n  the  courts  of 
the  United  States,  upon  charges  of  piracy  and  murder;  and  also  at 
the  suit  of  the  Spanish  claimants,  Ruiz  and  Montez.     No  bill  was 
found  against  them  by  the  grand-jury,  to  which  the  criminal  charge 
was  referred;  and  the  question  of  civil  right  was  finally  established 
m  their  flivour  by  the  supreme  court.     As  native  Africans,  born 
free,  they  were  restored  to  liberty,  and  finally  sent  back  to  their  own 
country.     Previous  to  their  departure,  great  efforts  were  made  by 
mdividuals  to  give  them  some  insight  into  the  advantages  of  civil- 
ization, and  such  instruction  as  time  and  opportunity  might  admit. 
The  natural  inclination  of  the  savage  for  the  free,  unfettered  life  to 
which  he  has  been  accustomed,  to  a  certain  extent  disappointed  the 
expectations  of  those  who  had  interested  themselves  in  this  matter. 

The  decision  of  the  federal  courts,  and  the  consequent  enlargement 
of  the  negroes,  gave  great  offence  to  the  Spa  h  government"  and  a 
claim,  on  behalf  of  tne  owners  of  the  vessel  and  cargo,  has  been 
repeatedly  pressed  in  the  conduct  of  later  negotiations. 

At  the  close  of  a  four  years'  term,  Van  Buren  was  succeeded  by 
William  Henry  Harrison,  whose  popularity  at  the  west  had  remained 
undiminished  from  the  period  of  his  military  services  in  the  frontier 
*  Book  of  the  United  Stntes. 


il 


898 


TIIK  PEOPLE'S    BOOK  OF   HIBTORY. 


war  with  the  British  and  Indiana.  The  inauguration  took  place  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1841.  One  month  later,  April  4th,  the  death  of 
President  Harrison  gave  occasion,  for  the  first  time,  for  the  applica- 
tion of  the  constitutional  provision  for  such  contingency.  The  vice- 
president,  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  entered  upon  the  vacant  office. 

A  special  session  of  congress,  called  by  Harrison  during  his  brief 
administration,  was  held  ut  the  close  of  May.  During  the  summer 
several  important  acts  were  i)asse(l,  mostly  having  reference  to  the 
disturbed  state  of  finnnoial  aifairs  still  existing.  A  general  bank- 
rupt law  was  the  first  of  these;  a  measure  in  which  congress  took 
upon  itself  the  responsibility  of  an  act  retrospective  in  its  character 
and  in  gross  violation  of  contracts.  The  general  dissatisfaction  of 
the  people  at  its  unjust  operation,  was  evinced  by  its  repeal  at  tlie 
regular  session  of  1842-8.  Next  came  the  repeal  of  the  sub-treasury 
law,  which  had  been  finally  carried  through  during  the  previoua 
term.  Provision  was  made  for  an  increase  of  revenue  by  additional 
duties  on  importations. 

To  encourage  the  occupation  and  improvement  of  public  lands 
a  right  of  preemption,  at  the  lowest  government  prices,  was  secured 
to  actual  settlers  upon  unappropriated  lands,  limited,  in  extent,  to 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for  each  individual  or  family,  according 
to  particular  provisions.     A  bill,  incorporating   a   national   bank 
expressly  for  the  purpose  of  providing  a  fit  agency  for  the  transaction 
of  the  monetary  aifairs  of  government,  passed  both  houses  of  con- 
gress; but,  to  the  astonishment  and  indignation  of  the  party  then  in 
the  ascendant,  it  received  the  presidential  veto   on  the   16th  of 
August.     The  grounds  of  objection,  submitted  by  Mr.  Tyler,  were 
the  absence  of  constitutional  power  in  congress  to  create  such  an 
institution.     Brought  up  a  second  time,  under  a  new  name,  and  with 
greater  restrictions  in  its  operation,  the  bill  was  again  defeated  by 
the  president,  and,  as  a  two-thirds  vote  could  not  be  obtained  in  its 
favour,  the  measure  fell  through. 

In  the  summer  of  1842,  the  return  of  an  exploring  expedition, 
fitted  out  from  the  United  States,  under  command  of  Wilkes,  four 
years  previous,  excited  universal  interest.  The  discovery  and  coast- 
ing, for  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  of  the  Antarctic  continent;  the 
assiduous  prosecution  of  philosophical  researches,  by  the  naturalists 
connected  with  the  expedition;  and  the  great  addition  to  the  general 
fund  of  information  respecting  countries  remote  and  seldom  vi.-itcd, 
were  matters  of  national  pride  and  gratification. 


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TUJi    UNITJSD   STAT£S. 


899 


r  Jp"ectnf  "'f"'""'  V^''  '''''  '^'  lo«g-disputed  question 
respecting  the  north-eastern  boundary,  was  finally  adiusted  Thp 
negot.at,ons  were  conducted,  on  the  part  of  GreatVud     by  Lord 

of  the'Serslf  ^  rT'tr  '''  ''''  P"^P^-'  -^'  ^^'^^^^ 
01  the  IJnited  States,  by  Mr.  Webster,  then  secretary  of  state     This 

treaty  also  related  to  other  matters  in  dispute,  or  of  mutual  conv" 
nience  and  necessity.  Among  these,  were  regulations  fo  the  extra- 
dition of  fugitives  from  justice,  and  stipulations  for  joint  onions 
in  suppressing  the  slave-trade.  ''        ^P^^^tions 

About  this  time,  a  further  revision  of  the  tariff  took  place   by 
which  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  thirty  per  cent,  was  laid  upon  arLles 
not  specially  excepted,  and  protective  imposts  were  affixed  to  oh    « 
specifically  designated.     As  at  first  carried,  the  bill  did  not  mee  tt  e 
views  of  the  president,  and  he  did  not  sc;uple  to  make  tXr  *  e 
of  his  veto  power.     After  some  alterations,  with  difficulty  sustained 
in  congress,  it  received  his  assent.    The  feeling  of  the  house  ofreo 
resentatives,  respecting  the  course  adopted  by  the  pres  d  nt   wTs' 
severely  expressed  in  the  report  of  a  commitfee  to  thich  the  Ts 
veto  was  referred.     Mr.  Tyler,  on  the  other  hand,  responded  Ky  an 
inchgnant  protest  against  the  apparent  attempt  to  impu^  hifmoles 
or  to  fetter  his  constitutional  prerogative  t'  6       >i  mouves 

Near  the  close  of  his  official  career,  in  January,  1846,  President 

quence.  This  was  -the  passage  of  a  joint  resolution  by  congress 
providing  for  the  admission  of  the  revolutionized  state  of  TexT^ 
mto  the  confederacy  of  the  United  States.  The  terms  of  admi  sion 
cession  of  public  territory,  &c..  were  left  open  for  future  nego"  on 
A  cursory  view  of  the  early  history  of  this  territ^^y,  as  a  ScTn 
province  and  the  course  of  events  leading  to  the  eSishment  of  L 
independence,  will  form  a  subject  for  our  separate  consideration 
VOL.  IV. — 64 


/         r. 


400 


THE   TEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  IlISTOEY. 


U     iImIi    Xii    iLiLitllilib         lAiViLxXa 


TEXAS  AS  A  SPANISH   PROVINCE:    GRANT    TO    MOSES    AUSTIN; 
COLONIZATION:  DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  SETTLERS. — REVOLU- 
TION  IN   MEXICO:   DUSTAMENTE:   FIRST   REVOLUTIONARY 
MOVEMENTS    IN    TEXAS:    SANTA    ANNA'S    PRESIDENCY: 
HIS     USURPATION. — SECOND     TEXAN     CAMPAIGN; 
SUCCESS  OP  THE  PATRIOTS:   INVASION  BY  SANTA 
,     ANNA:    BATTLE    OF  SAN   JACINTO;    INDEPEND- 
ENCE   ESTABLISHED. 

The  extensive  and  fertile  province  of  Texas  received  but  little 
attention  in  the  early  days  of  Mexican  conquest  by  the  Spaniards. 
It  presented  no  inducement  to  the  gold-hunter,  and  the  invaders 
were  of  a  different  mould  from  those  in  after-times  destined  to 
develop  its  unsurpassed  agricultural  resources.  The  colonists  who 
succeeded  the  original  adventurers  from  Spain,  were  in  equal  degree 
neglectful  of  the  field  for  industry  and  successful  enterprise  opened 
for  them  in  the  rolling  prairies  and  rich  bottom-lands  of  Texa.s, 
The  few  white  inhabitants  of  the  province  resided,  for  the  most  part, 
in  or  about  the  .small  Spanish  towns  of  Nacogdoches  and  San  Anto- 
nio. Prior  to  the  revolution  in  Mexico,  the  face  of  this  whole 
country  was  scarcely  changed  from  its  original  aspect,  notwithstand- 
ing the  remarkable  facility  with  which  it  can  be  brought  under 
cultivation. 

A  little  before  the  downfall  of  Spanish  power  upon  the  western 
continent,  in  the  month  of  January,  1821,  Moses  Austin,  a  citizen 
of  Connecticut,  concluded  a  negotiation  opened  with  the  colonial 
government  for  the  purpose  of  commencing  a  colonization  of  tlie 
coast  district.  A  tract  of  land  was  assigned,  extending  one  hundred 
miles  upon  the  coast,  and  still  farther  inland,  into  which  vVustin 
contracted  to  introduce  three  hundred  families  of  immigrants,  each 
family  to  be  secured  in  possession  of  a  square  league  of  land,  and  to 
be  allowed  extensive  specified  privileges  of  exemption  from  taxation, 
and  the  right  to  free  importation  of  commodities  otherwise  taxable. 

"The  privilege  and  distinction  of  carrying  out  this  important 
undertaking  devolved  upon  Stephen  F.  Au.stin,  a  son  of  the  original 
grantee.     After  many  unsuccessful  attempts  to  induce  the  embarka- 


THE    UNITED   STATES. 


401 


tion  of  eastern  capital  in  the  new  settlements,  he  proceeded  to  Texas, 
accompanied  by  such  adventurers,  with  their  families,  as  he  could 
persuade  to  try  their  fortunes  in  the  new  country.  Others  had 
r3fpd.r  P  '*  '  convenient  opportunity.     The  emigrants 

reached  the  Brazos  river  in  the  month  of  December  (1821)  From 
various  causes,  their  condition  was  trying  and  precarious:  two  ves- 
sels, freighted  with  provisions  and  supplies,  had  been  sent  out  from 
New  Orleans  but  one  of  these  was  lost,  and  the  cargo  of  the  other 
was  plundered  by  the  Carancahuas,  or  Coast  Indians. 

"In  addition  to  their  sufferings  from  destitution  and  from  savage 
depredations,  a  new  source  of  anxiety  arose  in  the  uncertainty  of  the 
tenure  by  which  they  held  their  lands;  as  the  Spanish  yoke  had 
now  been  thrown  off  by  Mexico.  In  order  to  obtain  a  confirmation 
of  the  former  grant,  from  the  existing  government,  Austin  pro- 
ceeded, in  person,  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  presented  the  claims 
of  his  colony  to  the  authorities.  Such  delays  were  experienced  from 
the  unsettled  state  of  affairs  in  the  new  republic,  that  it  was  more 
than  a  year  from  the  time  of  his  departure  before  he  returned  to 
relieve  the  apprehension  of  his  associates,  by  the  intelligence  that 
the  old  contract  was  ratified  hr-  ;he  Mexican  congress."* 

While  the  title  to  the  coast  grant  remained  in  abeyance,  colonists 
from  the  United  States  hesitated  to  stake  their  fortunes  upon  the 
uncertain  action  of  the  republic,  and  many  of  them  returned  home 
completely  disheartened.  Others  occupied  the  unsettled  tract  ex- 
tending from  the  bank  of  the  Sabine  to  the  Brazos,  forming  the 
nucleus  of  the  present  thrifty  and  prosperous  settlements  in  that 
quarter. 

The  return  of  Austin  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  operations  of  the 
colony.  The  formidable  Carancahua  Indians,  whose  inroads  had 
kept  the  settlers  in  continual  alarm,  throughout  the  period  of  his 
absence,  were,  by  his  energetic  action,  extirpated  or  overawed,  and 
gave  little  further  trouble  to  the  white  inhabitants. 

Texas  was  incorporated  with  Coahuila  as  a  separate  state,  under 
the  republican  svstem;  but  all  political  influence  remained,  for  the 
time,  in  the  hands  of  the  latter  province,  on  account  of  its  larger 
population.  The  inhabitants  of  Coahuila,  of  Spanish  descent  felt 
little  fraternity  towards  the  settlers  from  the  United  States  The 
latter,  nevertheless,  in  their  isolated  position,  had  nothing  of  which 
to  complain  in  their  treatment  by  the  central  government,  prior  to 
*  Discoverers,  Pioneers,  &c.,  of  America. 


402 


THE  PEOPLE'S   BOOK   OF   HISTORY. 


the  administration  of  Bustamente.  They  enjoyed  perfect  immu- 
nity from  any  religious  restrictions,  and  were,  at  least,  allowed  the 
privilege  of  self-protection,  both  as  to  person  and  property.  In 
1830,  their  numbers  had  increased  to  nearly  thirty  thousand. 

Bustamente,  who  owed  his  authority  to  military  usurpation,  exhib- 
ited a  total  disregard  of  tlie  rights  of  the  Texan  colonists,  either  as 
occupants  under  the  grant  of  the  republic,  or  as  peaceable  immi- 
grants engaged  in  the  improvement  of  unappropriated  public  lands, 
in  accordance  with  liberal  provisions  of  former  colonization  laws. 
These  laws  were  repealed;  the  title  to  lands  already  appropriated 
and  improved,  was  called  in  question;  and  detachments  of  armed 
troops  were  stationed  at  various  points,  to  check  any  resistance  to 
the  establishment  of  a  new  order  of  government. 

To  maintain  more  efficient  control  over  the  inhabitants,  the  dic- 
tator ordered  the  erection  of  forts  at  Nacogdoches,  Anahuac,  and 
Velasco,  which  were  garrisoned,  and  placed  under  command  of  mili- 
tary oiBcials.  These  precautions  first  taken,  a  series  of  tyrannical  and 
arbitrary  proceedings  against  the  inhabitants  commenced.  "Citizens 
were  arrested  and  confined,  in  several  instances,  upon  vague  charges 
of  disaffection  to  the  existing  government;  the  civil  authority  in 
several  of  the  municipalities  was  declared  to  be  superseded,  and  in 
all  totally  disregarded;  in  short,  the  inhabitants  of  Texas  found 
themselves,  in  the  midst  of  peace,  suddenly  subjected  to  martial  law, 
administered  by  officers  who  appeared  to  have  been  sent  there  for 
no  other  purpose  than  to  make  war  upon  the  rights  secured  to  them 
by  the  constitution  of  the  country. 

"The  inhabitants,  scattered  over  a  wide  extent  of  country  in  iso- 
lated settlements  and  single  plantations,  and,  as  yet,  without  roads 
or  bridges  to  shorten  or  facilitate  an  intercourse  between  them,  were 
not  immediately  made  acquainted  with  the  nature  and  extent  of 
these  outrages  upon  tlieir  rights.  They  were  not  of  a  mettle,  how- 
ever, to  surrender  them  without  an  effort  for  redress."* 

A  meeting  was  called,  and  it  was  resolved  that  the  wisest  and, 
indeed,  safest  policy  was  an  immediate  resort  to  arms.  On  the  24tli 
of  June,  (1832,)  John  Austin,  at  the  head  of  sixty  volunteers,  at- 
tacked the  fort  at  Velasco,  garrisoned  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
His  first  movement  was  to  seize  upon  a  schooner,  lying  in  the  river, 
on  board  of  which  he  embarked  his  little  company,  and,  anchorint' 
opposite  the  fort,  opened  fire  upon  it  with  a  small  cannon.  The  fire 
•  Niles'  Historicil  View  of  Texas. 


1^- 


THE  tJNlTEU   STATES.  ^^. 

to  the  assa,!.™.,,  were  allowed  to  retire  unmolested        "^ 

the  garrison  at  Anahuac,  espousin.  the  can™.  „f  n.,.. 
opponents  in  Mexico,  abandined  the  for    ,o  The  Tei^  ' 

A.  Nacogdoches,  the  Mexican  stronghl  wr':„  bTy"ei,ed  W 't'he 
latrr2£:  -'^b^™"-""^.  '-d  the  garrl»„X=  ..^; 

.itezrs  ts"-'-- "«-"  "p°" » cap,„,,fti::iTr 

central  ^over.,.en;.     Ilil  strslTcot;  Z  G Lr t^A, '''" 

pubhc,  however,  was  turned  to  the  richness  of  fLT  5 

repr«i„„s  ofthese  speculators,  anfrilSlZSo^/:':: 

JilTthllLeTrarrrhfra^l-  ^^^  --  -^ 

;:^o:tti-rrapi^;rc^:^£r^^^^^^^ 

proposals  were  set  on'  fit  for  effeetrg  a  Ln.  1  ^^"^  '"'"'' 
from  Coahuila,  and  its  erection  ,.  ,^° '"''P''™'"'"."^  ""S  Provi.ice 
eonfederaey.  "*"  ^  "'»'  ^'^'=  '"  ""e  Mexican 

A  petition  to  this  effect  was  presented  bv  Austin  to  tl.  IT     ■ 
STdT  "^  T'"™'™  ""'  -Sleeted  a^„dstpon."rp°a° 

rtio:  on  i;e""AtVt::"c:''r4f.ff^  "=''':  ^'~- 

prejudice  their  cjTim,..  he  wrotctoTs  Stl^t^d^Wsr  'it," 
of  a  co,.vc„t,„n  for  the  organization  of  a  st»to  go;crnr  ,u  Uof 
h,s  w,y  hon^eward,  he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  ZZm.£1 


404 


TIIK    I'KOl'LK'S    BOOK    O  !•"    lIlSTOUy. 


authorities,  who  had  obtained  information  respecting  this  letter, 
upon  an  accusation  of  carrying  on  a  treasonable  correspondence. 

The  ambitious  projects  of  Santa  Anna,  aiming  at  the  establishment 
of  military  supremacy  over  the  republic,  were  crowned  with  success 
in  1834.  The  provinces  of  Zacatecas  and  Texas  alone  exhibited  a 
contumacious  disposition.  The  former  was  reduced  to  submission 
by  the  most  sanguinary  violence,  and  its  unfortunate  inhabitants 
were  subjected  to  martial  law,  and  placed  under  the  domination  of 
military  officials.  A  similar  course  was  resolved  upon  in  relation 
to  Texas,  but  the  result  proved  how  far  the  Mexican  authorities  had 
miscalculated  the  temper  and  capacity  of  the  hardy  immigrants  who 
composed  its  .population. 

Troops  were  sent  into  the  province,  and  an  order  was  issued  by 
the  commanding  officer,  General  Cos,  for  the  surrender  of  all  col- 
lections of  arms.  The  inhabitants,  while  they  scorned  to  comply 
with  the  requisition,  awaited  some  overt  act  of  military  usurpation 
prior  to  any  armed  combination  for  resistance.  A  meeting  of  dele- 
gates was  called,  to  hold  their  session  on  the  15th  of  October,  and 
consult  as  to  the  most  advisable  course  to  be  pursued.  The  first 
attempt  by  the  Mexican  authorities  to  disarm  the  Texans,  was  made 
at  Gonzales,  on  the  Guadaloupe,  near  the  north-western  limit  of  the 
American  settlements.  One  hundred  and  fifty  mounted  men,  dis- 
patched to  take  possession  of  a  piece  of  artillery  at  this  remote  vil- 
lage, were  opposed  and  driven  off  by  the  inhabitants  and  those  who 
had  assembled  for  their  assistance,  on  the  30th  of  September  (1835). 
Strengthened  by  reinforcements  to  a  company  of  five  hundred  men, 
the  Texans  at  Gonzales,  under  command  of  Austin,  prepared  to 
march  upon  San  Antonio  de  Bexar. 

About  this  time,  the  Mexican  fortress  at  La  Bahia,  or  Goliad, 
on  the  San  Antonio  river,  was  seized  by  an  independent  party 
of  texans.  The  garrison,  completely  surprised  by  a  night  at- 
tack, were  easily  overpowered,  and  a  most  seasonable  supply  of 
arms,  ammunition,  and  stores,  was  secured  for  the  use  of  the 
insurgents. 

Considerable  time  was  occupied  by  the  main  body  of  the  Texan 
army  in  preparations  for  the  reduction  of  San  Antonio,  where  Gen- 
eral Cos  was  posted  with  a  strong  force.  Before  the  commencement 
of  active  operations  in  that  quarter,  the  Texan  delegation  assembled, 
and  organized  a  temporary  government.  Henry  Smith  received  the 
appointment  of 'governor;  Stephen  F.  Austin  was  deputed  tn  pro- 


TIIK    UNITED    STATKS. 


405 


cure  aid  from  tlie  United  States  nnd  «;.>,y,.,-,i  tt      x 
commander-in-chief  of  the  fo,ees  °"'*°"  "'"^  '^°''" 

iexas  had  led  a  hfe  of  such  strange  vicissitudes,  as  must  develop 
al   the  powers  and  energies  of  man.     As  soldier,  lawyer,  and  legist 
lator,  he   had  exhibited  unusual  acumen  and  Steady  self-relian 
Mually  at  home  m  an  Indian  wigwam  or  in  the  hall  of  congres  ' 
he  had  spent  years  among  the  aborigines  of  the  country,  shS 

By  this  mtmmte  commumon,  he  acquired  not  only  a  sympathy  with 
tha  unfortunate  race  which  has  ever  appeared  in  all  his  dealings 
with  them,  but  an  mfluence  and  control  over  their  affections  and 

iTving  man"''"'^'''^^^  ^'""'""  '^""   '^''  '"^""^   ^^  ^"^  °*^^^^ 
''Having  removed  to  Texas,  he  entered  heart  and  soul  into  the 

InfreToTofT-^'*''  ^''"""''^  '""^  ^°  fully  secured  the  confidence 

and  re  pect  of  his  associates,  that,  at  the  most  dangerous  period  in 

he  history  of  the  country,  he  was  appointed,  as  before  mentioned" 

to  the  supreme  military  command."* 

Upon  the  departure  of  General  Austin  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  his 

devoTZT'  ''VT"':i^  1  '^^  ""^  ^°^^"^P^^  ^^f-^  San  Antonio 
devolved  upon  Colonel  Burleson.    On  the  5th  of  December,  an  attack 

was  commenced  upon  the  town.     The  contest  continued  for  four 

days,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  the  fort  of  the  Alamo  was  alone  ten- 

f!i  Y.  AT  '^'^'.^'""'"^  ^"^'  *^^^^f«^«'  «°"««^ted  to  capitu- 
late  the  Mexican  officers  were  paroled,  and  their  troops  were 
disbanded  or  drawn  off.  Thus  the  last  Mexican  stronghold  in 
Texas  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  patriots;  that  at  Lepanticlan,  on  the 

Nueces,  havingpreviouslysurrenderedtoavolunteerpartyofTexans 

(xreat  interest  was  excited,  throughout  the  United  States,  by 

reports  of  the  position  of  affairs  in  Texas,  and  many  adventurers^ 

mostly  young  and  active  men,  made  their  way  to  the  scene  of  action 

during  the  winter  ensuing,  and  proffered  their  services  in  the  revo- 

utionary  cause.    Months  passed  by  in  uncertainty  as  to  the  manner 

n  which  Santa  Anna  would  open  the  campaign.     He  finally  made 

his  appearance,  towards  the  close  of  February,  1836,  with  an  army 

of  eight  thousand  men.     The  right  division,  under  General  Urea, 

advanced  along  the  coast,  while  the  left,  commanded  by  Santa  Anna 

in  person,  marched  through  the  interior,  in  the  direction  of  San 

*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  America. 


400 


TIIK    l'i;ulM.E'8    IJOOK    OF    lIISTOItY. 


Antonio.     Tho  whole  force  of  tlio  Toxnns  in  actual  service  at  this 
crisis,  is  said  not  to  have  exceciled  five  hundred  men. 

Tho  first  intelligence  of  tho  invasion  was  coupled  with  the  report 
that  a  company  of  the  revolutionists,  under  Colonels  Grant  and 
Johnson,  who  had  undertaken  an  expedition  against  Matamoias,  on 
tho  Rio  Grande,  had  been  cut  off  by  the  advancing  army.  Santa 
Anna,  arriving  at  San  Antonio,  took  possession  of  the  place,  but  tho 
Texan  garrison,  occupying  the  strong  fort  of  the  Alamo,  refused  to 
capitulate.  In  expectation  of  relief  from  without,  they  had  deter- 
mined  to  defend  the  post  to  the  last.  "No  very  accurate  details 
have  been  given  of  the  manner  in  which  this  band  of  brave  men 
was  destroyed,  but  it  appears  that,  after  a  long  and  desperate  defence 
the  fort  was  stormed  by  an  overwhelming  force,  and  tho  garrison 
perished  to  a  man,  either  slain  in  the  conflict,  or  put  to  death  for 
defending  an  untenable  post." 

A  detachment  was  immediately  marched  from  San  Antonio  against 
Goliad.  The  Texans  there  in  occupation,  under  Colonel  Fannin,  on 
their  retreat  towards  Victoria,  were  pursued  and  surrounded  by  a 
vastly  superior  force.  The  whole  party  surrendered  to  the  enemy 
upon  favourable  terms  of  capitulation.  A  few  days  later,  on  tlie 
27th  of  March,  these  prisoners,  with  others  who  had  follen  into  the 
hands  of  the  invaders,  to  the  number  of  more  than  four  hundred 
were  brutally  massacred.  ' 

While  these  events  were  in  progress,  tho  Texan  delegates  had 
agam  assembled,  and  unanimously  agreed  upon  a  declaration  of 
independence.  A  state  constitution  was  formed,  and,  together  with 
a  general  declaration  of  rights,  received  the  signatures  of  the  mem- 
bers on  the  17th  of  March,  1836. 

In  the  month  of  April,  Santa  Anna  pushed  forward  to  ITarrisburg 
the  temporary  capital,  with  the  design  of  seizing  upon  the  officers 
of  government.  "Failing  in  this,  he  burned  the  town,  and  pro- 
ceeded down  Galveston  bay,  towards  New  Washington,  where  was 
a  dcpbl  of  military  stores.  On  his  return  towards  Lynch's  ferry,  on 
the  San  Jacinto,  with  the  intention  of  pressing  on  to  Anahuac',  he 
encountered  the  Texan  army,  ready  to  give  battle. 

"  The  patriot  army  consisted  of  less  than  eight  hundred  men,  of 
all  ranks  and  occupations,  most  of  them  undisciplined,  and  ignorant 
of  military  affairs.  The  Mexicans,  as  reinforced  by  five  hundred 
troops,  under  Cos,  on  the  morning  of  April  21st,  (the  day  of  battle) 
numbered  nearly  or  quite  sixteen  hundred,  most  of  whom  were 


W  I  hi.  I A  1/     //.     //  1  K  It  I S  ()  V, 

MSTII    rUKSIDRNT   OK  THR    UNITED   STATES. 

BOKN  IN   K:;f;    IKS'i'M.I.l'  IMM  I'll  UFKICK  IN  IbU  ;  l.ilKUAPmL4 
i>V  THF.  HAMK  -y  KAK 


./0//.V    TYLIIR, 

TENTH   PRKSIDENT  OF  THE   rNITEO  STATES. 

BORN   IN   1700:     SUCCERDKD   TO    THF    FRFSinVNfV   ti"  ^r'r.,..^ 

OFFICE  AS  vicE.PREstBENT,  OK  rn:^^^Z  w  nnlllrZ^'"'' 

IN  1H41  ;   .Kir.-ED  THK  REMaINDKR  OF  TTIF  TERM 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


407 


veteran  troops,  under  the  command  of  officers  of  skill  and  cxncri- 
niXt  of  tte  20tT'"'  ^^^^^  ^f ''"^"^^^  ^^^'™'^^^'  encamped,  onTe 

tliree  P  M    Kv  n  T    ■  ''''*'""  commenced  at  half-t,a.st 

wl  o  ;  shfd'  o^  toT'  "^J^^^"°"%^"«°k  on  the  part  of  the  Texans, 
Who  rushed  on,  to  the  war-cry  of  'liemember  the  Alamo!'     The 
rou  of  the  Mexicans  was  complete,  and  the  pursuit  of  he  fdtiv 
continued  until  night-fall  "*  lugHives 

Jcxansm  tailed  nnd  wounded,  was  but  twenty-five.    Nearlv  ll,e 

uonerals  banto  Anna  and  Cos  were  both  taken  prisoners  tlio  first 
on  the  day  s„ceeed,„g  that  of  the  battle,  the  other  on  the Ist 

ZL  ?the  r;o  Ji  "nirts'tr.';.:'-'  ™  °'"°"'°"^"  *- "'°  •>* 

:„.„  „«•  »        "-""utionisis,  and  the  new  eonstitut  on  went  auiollv 
into  effeet.     General  Houston  w«3  eleeted  flret  preside,     of  tie 

Me,;a^:t:nir;ie^,:r::z;T^x^^^^^^^^^^^ 

*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  America. 


408 


THE    I'EOl'LE'S    BOOK    OF    IHSTOKY. 


VJ      Ji<L    JtOi    iL         X       Ju      iLb  i/\>      iL      tZdu 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES   K.   POLK.  —  ANNEXATION   OF  TEXAS. 

—  THE  NORTII-AVESTERN  BOUNDARY.  —  DISCOVERY  AND  UIS- 

TORY  OF  THE  TERRITORY  OF  OREGON.  —  VOYAGE  OF  JUAN 

DE     FUCA:     DISCOVERY    OF    THE    COLUMBIA;     TRADING 

ESTABLISHMENTS:   JOURNEY  OF  LEWIS  AND  CLARKE; 

ASTORIA:     DESTRUCTION    OF    THE   TONQUIN:    WAR 

WITH   GREAT   BRITAIN;    BOUNDARY   TREATIES; 

SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    COUNTRY. 


In  the  month  of  March,  1845,  James  K.  Polk,  of  Teimessee 
succeeded  to  the  presidency,  George  M.  Dallas  being  vice-president. 
At  the  congressional  session,  commencing  December  1st,  1845,  vari- 
ous acts  were  passed,  the  influence  of  which  upon  the  future  destinies 
of  the  country  is  incalculable.  Among  the  first  of  these,  was  the 
final  joint  resolution,  by  virtue  of  which  Texas  became  one  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  burden  of  maintaining  her  independence  was 
assumed  by  the  confederacy.  Hostilities  with  Mexico  followed,  con- 
nected with  which,  are  most  matters  of  interest  occurring  throuohout 
this  administration.  An  account  of  all  the  material  events  of  the 
war  has  been  already  given,  under  the  title  of  Mexico. 

In  the  summer  of  18-4(),  the  vexed  question  respecting  conflicting 
claims  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  to  jurisdiction  in  the 
territory  of  Oregon  was  finally  set  at  rest.  The  forty-ninth  parallel 
was  fixed  as  our  northern  boundary,  extending  westward  to  the 
channel  between  Vancouver's  island  and  the  main,  thence  throut^h 
the  straits  of  Fuca  to  the  Pacific.  Free  navigation  of  the  channel 
and  straits,  and  of  the  north  branch  of  the  Columbia  to  the  ocean, 
was  secured  to  subjects  or  citizens  of  either  nation. 

A  brief  account  of  the  discovery,  settlement,  and  previous  history 
of  this  extensive  and  valuable  territory,  in  the  present  connection 
may  not  appear  unprofitable  or  out  of  place. 

In  early  times  it  was  commonly  supposed  that  a  free  communica- 
tion existed  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  in  latitude  no 
farther  north  than  the  northern  limits  of  the  territory  of  Orc"-on. 
Vague  report.s,  corroborative  of  this  theory,  were  given  by  advent- 
urous mariners,  whom  chance  or  the  desire  of  exploration  threw 


J 


THE   UNITKIJ   STATKS. 


409 


upon  the  north-western  coast.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  early 
narratives  is  that  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  a  Cephalonian  pilot,  who  sailed 
under  a  couu.uss.on  from  the  governor  of  Mexico,  upon  a  northern 
voyage  of  discovery,  in  1592. 

Five  years  previous,  this  celebrated  navigator,  while  on  a  voya-re 
ron.  Manilla  to  the  Spanish  provinces  in  America,  was  captured  ne°ar 
the  coast  by  the  bucaniers  unuer  Cavendish.  The  vessel  in  which 
he  sailed  was  fired  but  not  entirely  destroyed,  and  the  crew  were 
set  on  shore  upon  the  peninsula  of  Old  California.  Kegaining  pos- 
session of  their  abandoned  craft,  they  managed  to  refit  her  and  to 
continue  their  voyage,  with  the  loss  of  all  their  effects 

The  Mexican  governor  took  Juan  de  Fuca  under  his  patronage 
and  availed  himself  of  his  experience  in  nautical  affiiirs,  in  the  pros! 
ecution  of  exploration  at  the  north.  The  first  voyage  was  uiisuc 
cessful,  nothing  being  seen  of  the  reported  "straits  of  Anian,"  throu^^h 
which  It  was  believed  a  passage  might  be  effected  to  the  Atlantic 
Ihe  second  expedition  is  chronicled  as  follows  by  Purchas  uijon  the 
authority  of  Michael  Lock  the  elder  •  ^ 

the  South  Aea,  all  along  the  coast  of  Nova  8pania,  and  California, 
and  the  Indies,  now  called  North  America,  (all  which  voya..e  he  si- 
mtied  to  me  in  a  great  map,  and  a  sea-card  of  my  own,  which  I  lafd 
before  him )  until  he  came  to  the  latitude  of  forty-s^ven  degrees- 
and  that  there,  finding  that  the  land  trended  north  and  north-ea"' 
with  a  broad  inlet  of  sea  between  forty-seven  and  forty-eight  degrees 
of  latitude  he  entered  thereinto,  sailing  therein  more  than  twenty 
days  and  found  that  land  trending  still  sometimes  north-west,  and 
north-east,  and  north,  and  also  east  and  south-eastward,  and  very 
much  broader  sea  than  was  at  the  said  entrance,  and  that  he  passed 
by  divers  islands  in  that  sailing;  and  that,  at  the  entrance  of  this 
sa,d  strait,  there  is,  on  the  north-west  coast  thereof,  a  great  head-land 
or  island,  with  an  exceeding  high  pinnacle,  or  spired  rock,  like  a 
pillar,  thereupon.  ,       ^  ^ 

"Also  he  said  that  he  went  on  land  in  divers  places,  and  that  he 
saw  some  people  on  land,  clad  in  beast's  skins;  and  that  the  land  is 
very  fruitful,  and  rich  of  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and  other  things,  like 

"And  also  he  said  that  he,  being  entered  thus  far  into  the  said 
strait,  and  being'come  into  the  North  Sea  already,  and  finding  the 
sea  wide  enough  every  where,  an<l  to  be  al)out  thirty  or  forty  leagues 


i 


410 


TllK   I'KurLE'S   BOOK   OF  IIISTOKY. 


vvido  in  the  month  of  the  straits  where  he  entered,  he  tViought  ho 
luul  now  well  (liscliurgod  his  oflicc;  and  that,  not  being  arniod  to  re- 
sist tlio  force  of  tlie  savage  peo{)lo  tliat  might  happen,  ho  tlieroforo 
set  sail,  and  retnrnod  homewards  again  towards  Noua  Spdiiia,  where 
he  arrived  at  Acnpnlco,  Anno  1592,  hoping  to  bo  rewarded  by  tlic 
viceroy  for  his  service  done  in  the  said  voyage."* 

Tlie  true  name  of  this  navigator  is  said  to  have  been  Apostoloa 
Valcrianos,  bnt  tlic  inlet,  of  which,  if  not  the  discoverer,  he  was  the 
first  authentio  explorer,  has  ever  since  borne  his  more  popular  ap- 
pellation. Tlie  straits  of  Juan  de  Fuea  were  not  again  entered  or 
noticed  for  nearly  two  centuries  from  the  time  of  the  Greek  pilot. 
In  17S7,  the  account  above  given,  which  had  been  long  discredited 
was  in  part  corroborated,  and  its  errors  were  pointed  out,  by  the  re- 
port of  Captain  Berkeley,  an  Englishman,  commanding  a  vessel  in 
the  service  of  the  Austrian  East  India  Company. 

Twelve  years  before  this  period,  August  15,  1775,  Bruno  ITocefa 
commander  of  an  exploring  expedition  fitted  out  from  San  Bins,  dis- 
covered the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river;  but  he  failed  to  notice 
the  entrance  of  the  straits.  Cajitain  Cook,  during  his  last  voyive 
in  the  year  1778,  just  previous  to  his  second  and  fatal  visit  to  the 
S.'mdwieh  Islands,  made  an  unsuccessful  cxaminatiou  of  the  coast  in 
search  after  the  reported  inlet. 

Within  a  few  years  from  this  time  a  valuable  traflie  in  furs,  to  be 
used  in  the  China  trade,  was  opened  with  the  natives  of  the  north- 
west coast.  Two  vessels,  the  Felice  and  the  Iphigenia,  sailed  upon 
this  enterprise  from  Macao  in  1788,  under  Portuguese  colours,  but 
subject  to  the  general  management  of  John  Meares,  a  British  lieu- 
tenant. Before  the  departure  of  these  vessels  from  the  coast,  tlic 
Columbia  and  Washington,  fitted  out  at  Boston,  in  the  United  States 
upon  similar  service,  entered  Nootka  sound.  In  1792,  the  first  of 
these,  under  command  of  Captain  Gray,  passed  up  the  river  discovered 
by  Iloceta.  It  has  ever  since  borne  the  name  of  the  vessel,  and  to 
Gray  must  be  ascribed  the  honour  of  being  the  first  to  prove  its  ex- 
istence, as  this  was  only  conjectured  by  the  first  discoverer,  from  the 
strong  current  setting  out  of  the  bay. 

Confiicting  claims  respecting  exclusive  rights  upon  the  north-west 

coast,  by  virtue  of  discovery  and  occupation,  were  long  maintained 

by  difierent  European  jiowers;  and  after  the  cession  by  Spain  to  tlie 

United  States  of  the  immense  territory  then  called  Louisiana  the 

*  (Jri'oiiliow'ri  Ilistdiy  df  Oregon  iind  California. 


.rAMEfi    K.    POLK. 

P^n^^TV,  f"^''''''"^"'"   ^'^''^^"^^•"^•^'  ^^  "IE   UMTEI.  STATES. 

Bonn  m  ... .  phkstpknt  tk  ,.. .  skrvkb  .  tk An.  .■  bt.b  .hkk  ,,.  ,... 


I 


TlIK    UNITKD  STATJiS. 


411 


latter  power  boeaiiie  involved  in  a  similar  controversy  with  Great 
Britain.     During  the  year  subsequent  to  this  event,  1804,  a  party  of 
thirty  or  forty  men,  under  command  of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke 
was  despatched  by  the  United  States'  government  upon  a  journey  of 
overland  exploration  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific 

The  adventurers  passed  the  winter  near  the  Mandan' villages  far 
up  the  Missouri,  and  in  the  spring  of  1805  pursued  their  voyage  up 
the  river  in  canoes  and  "periogues."  Deriving  their  principal  sup- 
port from  the  game  brought  in  by  their  hunters,  they  slowly  worked 
their  way  against  the  current,  and  passed  the  great  falls  or  rapids  of 
the  Mi^ouri  in  the  month  of  July.  At  this  point  they  were  obliged 
to  build  light  canoes  in  which  to  continue  their  voyage.  Entering 
the  Jefferson  fork,  about  the  close  of  the  month,  they  kept  on  their 
course  until  the  river,  no  longer  navigable,  had  dwindled  to  a  brook 
and  on  the  12th  of  August  its  utmost  source  was  discovered 

Passing  the  dividing  ridge,  the  advanced  party  reached  "a  hand- 
some bold  creek  of  clear  cold  water,  running  to  the  westward  " 
After  enduring  the  utmost  hardships  in  the  dangerous  passage  uf 
the  mountains,  the  travellers  struck  the  Kooskooskee,  and  resumed 
their  journey  by  water.  They  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
early  in  November.  Nothing  was  heard  from  the  expedition  until 
Its  return  to  St.  Louis  on  the  23d  of  September,  1806.  The  account 
published  by  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  is  replete  with  interest 
and  marked  by  an  agreeable  simplicity  of  style. 

Great  interest  was  excited  throughout  the  United  States  by  the 
long-expected  report,  and  plans  were  soon  after  set  on  foot  for  the 
formation  of  a  permanent  establishment,  for  trading  purposes,  upon 
the  1  aciflc  coast.  A  company,  styled  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  w.s 
formed  under  the  auspices  of  John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York  in 
1810,  and  vessels  were  at  once  fitted  out  upon  the  enterpiise  The 
settlement  of  Astoria  at  Point  George,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, was  commenced  during  the  summer  of  1811.  This  under- 
taking, at  first  prosperous,  resulted  in  misfortune.  The  Tonquin 
the  first  vessel  sent  out,  while  engaged  in  trade  near  the  straits  of 
Fuca,  was  plundered  by  the  Indians,  and  blown  up.  All  on  board 
perished,  with  the  exception  of  an  Indian  interpreter,  who,  after  a 
captivity  of  two  years,  made  his  way  to  Astoria,  and  gave  the  first 
intelligence  of  the  disaster. 

The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  tlie  United  States  breakincr 
out  at  this  period,  the  resident  partners  of  the  American  CompanJ 


412 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


effected  a  sale  of  the  whole  establishment  and  stores  to  the  British 
North-west  Company.  The  occupants  under  this  transfer  continued 
to  carry  on  the  trade  in  furs  after  the  rfiestablishment  of  the  authority 
of  the  United  States  over  that  portion  of  the  north-west  territory. 

"By  the  treaty  of  1818,  the  territories  west  of  the  Kocky  moun- 
tains, claimed  by  the  United  States  or  Great  Britain,  were  to  be 
jointly  occupied  by  citizens  of  either  country,  for  a  period  of  ten 
years.  Upon  the  expiration  of  this  term  (in  1828),  the  arrangement 
was  renewed,  and  indefinitely  extended;  one  year's  notice  to  be 
given  by  either  government  prior  to  any  future  assertion  of  sole 
sovereignty. 

"As  the  attention  of  the  United  States  became  aroused  by  the 
progress  of  emigration  to  Oregon,  the  necessity  for  some  definitive 
settlement  of  the  boundary  question  began  to  be  universally  felt. 
Subsequent  to  the  explorations  and  surveys  under  Colonel  Fremont 
elsewhere  narrated,  great  numbers  of  settlers,  during  the  summers  of 
1843  and  1844,  pursued  the  overiand  route,  and  settled  in  the  Wil- 
lamet  valley.  The  number  of  American  emigrants  in  Oregon  at  the 
close  of  the  latter  year,  is  computed  at  more  than  three  thousand, 
and  great  sympathy  was  felt  for  them  throughout  the  Union,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  hardships  they  had  endured,  and  the  uncertainty 
of  their  position  while  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  country  re- 
mained unsettled."* 

After  the  final  settlement  of  the  boundary  question,  in  1846  as 
before  mentioned,  emigration  received  a  new  impetus.  Althon^h 
lying  in  a  high  latitude,  the  climate  of  the  territory  of  Oregon  is  by 
no  means  severe.  Owing  to  its  situation  upon  the  western  shore  of 
a  large  continent,  like  the  countries  of  western  Europe,  it  is  subject 
to  no  such  extremes  of  temperature  as  those  felt  in  the  New  Ent^land 
states.  The  soil  is  extremely  fertile,  and  the  surface  of  the  country 
is  beautifully  diversified  with  mountains,  plains,  hills,  and  streams. 
The  population,  as  exhibited  in  the  census  returns  of  1850,  numbered 
thirteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-three. 
*  Discoverers,  &c.,  of  America. 


THE  UNITED   STATES. 


418 


CHAPTER   II. 

ALTERATION  IN  THE  T  A  RIPP.— ACQUISITION  OP  CAUFORNIA. 
EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THAT  PROVINCE:  THE  JESUIT  MISSIONS 
IN'THE    PENINSULA:    THE    DOMINIC ANS.  — UPPER    CALI- 
FORNIA:   THE   FRANCISCAN   MISSIONARY   ESTABLISH- 
MENT; THE  MEXICAN  REVOLUTION:  ATTEMPTS 
AT  COLONIZATION. 


A  LITTLE  before  the  close  of  the  session  of  congress,  in  the  summer 
of  1846,  the  views  of  the  political  party  then  in  the  ascendency 
respecting  duties  on  importations,  were  carried  out  by  revision  and 
alteration  of  the  tariff  of  1842.     Material  reduction  was  made  in 
the  protective  duties  established  by  the  former  bill. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Mexico,  the  acquisition  of 
Oahfornia  gave  a  new  direction  to  speculative  enterprise  throughout 
tlie  Union— especially  at  the  extreme  west  and  upon  the  sea-board 
The  existence  of  a  gold  deposit  in  the  bed  of  the  American  fork  of 
the  Sacramento,  was  first  discovered  in  the  spring  of  1848      "From 
this  period  every  thing  connected  with  the  California  settlements 
took  a  new  aspect.     The  villages  which  had  sprung  up  since  the 
acquisition  of  the  country  by  the  United  States,  were  mostly  de- 
serted; the  crops  were  left  ungathered;  the  crews  of  the  vessels 
lying  in  port  deserted;  labour  could  be  procured  only  at  the  most 
exorbitant  prices;  in  short,  nearly  the  whole  male  population  had 
hurried  to  the  mines,  and,  regardless  of  hardship,  fatigue,  exposure 
and  sickness,  were  engaged  in  the  all-absorbing  pursuit  of  gold."     ' 
An  unexampled  increase  of  population,  within  the  short  period 
of  two  years,  converted  a  wilderness,  uninhabited  save  by  rov\u<r  lav- 
ages and  the  occupants  of  a  few  small  towns  or  trading-posts^  into 
an  important  and  prosperous  state.     The  history  of  its  settlement  is 
more  like  a  tale  of  romance  than  a  record  of  realities. 

Throughout  the  continuance  of  Spanish  or  .^[oxican  dominion  over 
the  Californias,  those  provinces  were  looked  upon  as  of  little  im- 
portance, and  cliiefly  interesting  as  a  field  for  missionary  enterprise. 
The  peninsula  of  Old  California  was  discovered,  in  1534,  by  Grijalva' 
sailing  upon  a  voyage  of  discovery  under  commission  from  Cortez! 


414 


THE  PKOl'LK'S  BOOK  OF  UIBTOBY. 


The  gulf  which  aeparivtes  it  from  the  main  was  soon  after  explored 
and  at  different  times  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  plant  col- 
onies at  several  locations.  The  peninsula  was  barren  and  mountain- 
ous, and  nothing  was  imagined  of  the  undeveloped  wealth  and 
resources  of  the  country  farther  north. 

In  California,  as  in  many  other  portions  of  America,  the  pioneers 
of  settlement  and  civilization  were  the  fraternity  of  Jesuits.  These 
indefatigable  propagandists  of  the  faith  commenced  operations  upon 
either  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  towards  the  close  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century.  Upon  the  main,  a  settlement  was  founded  by  the 
learned  and  zealous  Father  Kuhn— before  his  departure  for  America 
a  professor  of  mathematics  at  Ingoldstadt.  Father  Salvatierra,  also 
a  member  of  the  order,  at  the  same  time  established  the  missionary 
station  of  Loreto  at  the  bay  of  San  Dionisio,  upon  the  peninsula. 
He  took  with  him  six  soldiers  as  a  slight  protection  against  attack 
on  the  part  of  the  natives. 

The  Indians  had  little  reason  to  look  with  favour  upon  any  further 
encroachment  upon  their  territory.  For  a  long  period  the  coast  had 
seldom  been  visited,  except  by  those  engaged  in  the  pearl  fishery,  in 
the  pursuit  of  which  occupation  it  had  been  the  common  custom'  to 
compel  the  service  of  the  natives,  great  numbers  of  whom  had  per- 
ished in  this  dangerous  avocation.  Salvatierra  and  his  associates  in 
the  missionary  work  made  great  and  finally  successful  exertions  to 
procure  from  the  home  government  the  enactment  of  laws  for  the 
protection  of  their  adopted  people  from  this  species  of  slavery. 

At  San  Dionisio  a  chapel  was  erected  to  "Our  Lady  of  Loreto" 
and  the  good  fiither  made  use  of  all  means  in  his  power  to  excite  the 
interest,  arouse  the  curiosity,  and  conciliate  the  good-will  of  his  an- 
ticipated proselytes.  He  met  at  first  with  very  unfovourable  returns : 
the  Indians,  after  plundering  him  of  his  horse  and  goats,  finally  col- 
lected in  force,  and  attempted  the  destruction  of  the  establishment. 
They  were  driven  off  by  the  fire-arms  of  the  soldiers. 

The  efforts  of  Salvatierra  and  Kiihn  were  worthily  seconded  by 
Fathers  TJgarte  and  Francisco  Piccolo.  The  latter,  in  the  autumn  of 
1699,  two  years  from  the  formation  of  the  first  Jesuit  settlement, 
founded  the  mission  of  San  Xavier,  on  tho  Pacific  coast.  From  this 
station,  as  well  as  that  at  San  Dionisio,  the  missionaries  extended 
their  operations  among  the  natives  by  making  long  journeys  on 
horseback  throughout  a  great  extent  of  the  peninsula,  acquainting 
themselves  with  the  resources  and  gcoginphy  of  the  country,  preach" 


i '          .■Si- 

ll,,' ..    ,',  ...■f'Ti^a 

THE  UNITKD  STATKS. 


415 


ing  to  thij  Indians  in  their  own  language,  and  endeavouring  by  every 
means  to  gam  their  confidence  and  good-will 

wi!l!^rrVT'  "'"■  /"'■""'  *^"^''°  '"  ^^'^^^  "  "«  '''^^  "P  ^-i"  «hodo 
To  h  w  :  rT  """"','  "'"^''^  ''""'P'^nion,  among  the  mountain.s 
80uth.wc8t  of  Loreto,  nnd,  by  the  force  of  oxnmprc  and  rewardn 
Btimulatcd  h,8  wild  nH«ociat<.H  to  shake  off  their  natural  sloth,  and 
md  h.m  m  erecting  dwellings  and  a  chapel  for  public  worship.  He 
was  of  a  robust  frame  and  hardy  constitution,  and  was  always  fore- 
most  to  undertake  the  labour  and  drudgery  attendant  upon  tl^  form- 
ation of  the  settlement.  His  greatest  trouble,  at  first,  was  from  an 
unconquerable  tendency  on  the  part  of  his  auditors  to  jeer  and  lau^h 
at  hi«  religious  exercises,  but  the  infiiction  of  summary  chastisement 

qiftirSy."^-'  '""^  ^^"^^'"^^'^"^  ^'"^"^  *^-'  «^-^"^ 

"This  excellent  and  energetic  ecclesiastic  did  not  confine  himself 

to  a  care  for  the  souls  of  his  flock;  he  taught  them  the  cultivation 

of  the  soil;  he  introduced  the  domestic  animals  of  Europe;  and  even 

the  woorhT  '  TJ"  V^  '^'  ''''  °''''f^'""'"S  '^"^  manufacturing 
the  wool  obtained  from  his  sheep.     Slowly  but  steadily  the  missions 

contmued  to  prosper;   the  fickle-minded  aborigines  were  subdued 
and  restrained  by  force  or  kindness  as  occasion  required-  and  the 
general  tenor  of  the  lives  of  those  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  mis 
8|ons,  gave  evidence  that  their  motives  were  pure,  and  that  they  had 
the  interests  of  their  proselytes  at  heart."* 

The  difliculties  encountered  by  these  pioneers  of  civilization  were 
increased  by  the  conduct  of  too  many  of  those  who  accompanied 
them  from  Mexico,  or  who  afterwards  came  over  to  engage  in  secular 
employnient  at  the  stations.     "The  land  was  so  barren,"  says  Green- 
how    "that  It  scarcely  yielded  the  means  of  sustaining  life  to  the 
most  industrious  agriculturalist,  for  which  reason  the  settlements 
were  all  located  near  the  sea,  in  order  that  the  necessary  food  might 
be  procured  by  fishing;  and  the  persons  employed  in  their  service 
being  drawn  from  the  most  miserable  classes  in  Mexico,  were  always 
indolent  and  insubordinate,  and  generally  preferred  loitering  on  the 
shore,  in  search  of  pearls,  to  engaging  in  the  regular  laboura  required 
lor  the  supj)ort  of  settlers  in  a  new  region  " 

nioTo  '  ^'l"';  °'^^^  °''  *b«  '^''^^^  having  gradually  fallen  into  sus- 
Fc  on  with  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  its  members  were  subjected 
to  persecution  and  banishment  in  :,he  territories,  successively  of 


TT-       -*  '^'scoverm,  &c.,cf  Ameriua. 
VOL,.  I\.— 05 


f  9^^ 


J 


416 


TIIK   I'KOI'LE'S    BOOK   OF   IlISTOKY. 


Portugal,  France,  and  Spain.  In  the  year  1767,  they  were  expelled 
from  Culifornia,  and  the  country  becoming  a  Mexican  province,  the 
missionaries  were  superseded  by  Franciscans,  and  the  civil  authority 
of  Mexico  was  extended  over  the  settlements.  The  missionary  sta- 
tions on  the  peninsula  were,  at  this  time,  sixteen  in  number.  Domin- 
ican friars  took  the  place  of  the  Jesuits,  and,  pursuing  a  far  dilTercnt 
policy  towards  the  natives  from  that  carried  out  by  their  predeces- 
sors, soon  destroyed  the  confidence  of  the  inhabitants,  and  frustrated 
the  plans  for  their  improvement,  before  so  promising.  Tlie  Indians 
of  Old  California  are,  at  the  present  day,  few  in  number,  and  still  in 
the  condition  of  the  savage. 

Turning  their  attention  from  the  barren  mountains  of  the  penin- 
sula to  the  extensive  and  fertile  region  of  Upper  or  New  California 
the  Franciscans,  with  the  aid  and  countenance  of  the  "Marquis  de 
Croix,  viceroy  of  Mexico,  founded  a  settlement  at  San  Diego,  in 
1769.  From  this  station,  a  party  was  shortly  after  sent  to  explore 
and  take  formal  possession  of  the  country  further  north.  They 
proceeded  by  land  as  far  as  the  harbour  of  San  Francisco,  upon 
which  they  bestowed  its  present  appellation,  and  returned  to  make 
report  at  San  Diego,  in  January  of  the  following  year. 

This  exploring  party  had  been  specially  commissioned  to  establish 
a  settlement  upon  the  bay  of  Monterey,  but  upon  the  journey  they 
failed  to  recognise  that  locality  from  its  description  by  early  voy- 
agers. A  few  months  subsequent  to  their  return,  the  service  was 
accomplished  by  another  expedition,  under  direction  of  Father 
Junipero  Serra.  A  portion  of  the  adventurers  proceeded  bv  sea 
the  voyage— from  San  Diego  to  Monterey— occupying  no  less  than 
forty-six  days;  another  party  made  the  journey  in  a  less  space  of 
time,  by  land,  and  were  found  by  the  voyagers,  engaged  in  building 
and  other  preparations  for  a  settlement.  "On  the  31st  of  May," 
says  Scrra,  "by  the  favour  of  God,  after  rather  a  painful  voyage  of 
a  month  and  a  half,  the  packet  San  Antonio,  commanded  by  Don 
Juan  Perez,  arrived  and  anchored  in  this  horrible  port  of  Moiuorey 
which  is  unaltered  in  any  degree  from  what  it  wa.s  when  visited  by 
the  expeditic^n  of  Don  Sebastian  Viscayno,  in  the  year  1603." 

The  missions  in  Upper  California  received  special  patronage  from 
the  Spanish  crown,  and  a  large  fund  was  raised  for  their  supfiort,  in 
Mexico,  by  voluntary  contributions  of  the  pious.  Many  valuable 
legacies  were  also  funded  for  this  purpose,  and  the  temporal  affairs 
of  the  enterprise  were,  for  a  series  of  years,  in  a  prosperous  condi- 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


417 


tion.  The  spiritual  progress  of  the  Indians  was,  however,  by  no 
means  in  conformity  with  the  great  apparent  success  of  the  missions. 
Ihe  influence  and  authority  of  the  ecclesiastics  was  established 
Uiroughout  the  lino  of  coast-their  head-quarters  being  at  San 
Diego,  Monterey,  San  Francisco,  and  San  Gabriel-but  their  influ- 
cnce  appears  to  have.availed  little  towards  the  actual  improvement 
or  civilization  of  the  natives.  The  church  acquired  extensive  titles 
to  the  more  valuable  lands,  and,  instead  of  favouring  the  immigra- 
tion  of  whites,  threw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  colonization  by  civil- 
ians. The  clergy,  content  with  a  nominal  or  outward  compliance 
with  the  forms  of  their  church,  preferred  to  retain  their  undivided 
supremacy  over  the  natives,  and  feared  the  consequence  of  the 
introduction  of  free  settlers. 

They  did  not  attain  this  commanding  position  without  first  en- 
durmg  great  hardships  and  suffering,  and  exposing  themselves  to 
continual  personal  danger.  Their  property,  in  the  early  days  of 
the  missions,  was  pilfered  by  the  natives  on  every  occa.sion,  and,  from 
time  to  time,  they  were  forced  to  resort  to  the  "secular  arm"  in 
defending  their  lives  against  hostile  attacks.  Upon  one  occasion,  a 
large  body  of  Indians  fell  upon  the  settlement  at  San  Diego,  and 
after  a  hard  struggle,  were  driven  off  by  the  handfbl  of  whites  therJ 
in  occupation.  They  shortly  after  sued  for  peace,  and  begged  the 
Spanish  surgeon  to  visit  and  assist  those  of  their  number  who  had 
been  wounded  in  the  conflict.  This  aid  was  cheerfully  and  readily 
ariorded.  ■^ 

Upon  the  general  overthrow  of  the  old  order  of  things,  at  the 
period  of  the  Mexican  revolution,  the  privileges  and  powers  of  the 
Cul.fornian  hierarchy  were  curtailed,  and  its  resources  in  Mexico 
cut  off  by  sequestration  of  the  sums  appropriated  for  the  salaries  of 
the  priesthoocT.  Measures  were  also  taken  to  eflect  an  emancipation 
of  the  natives,  but  so  completely  incompetent  did  they  appear  to 
the  management  of  property,  and  so  much  disposed  to  return  to  the 
savage  life  of  their  forefathers,  that  it  was  judged  expedient,  for  the 
time,  to  allow  matters  to  continue  much  in  their  old  position  The 
church  in  California  was,  at  this  period,  so  amply  endowed  by 
monopolies,  and  the  acquisition  of  real  estate,  that  it  was  no  longer 
dependent  upon  supplies  from  abroad. 

A  movement  wns  afterwards  set  on  foot  in  Mexico,  for  the  fur- 
therance of  colonization  in  California  by  the  entire  removal  of  the 
missionaries,  and  a  sequestration  of  their  lands  and  efl"ect,^.     A  lav^ 


418 


THE   l'KOPLK'8    BOOK    OK    IlISTOKY. 


was  actually  passed  for  this  purpose,  in  the  Mexican  congress,  and 
great  numbers  of  einigranti^,  allured  by  the  favourable  offers  of  govern- 
ment, were  soon  en  route  for  the  land  of  promise.  All  their  expecta- 
tions failed  upon  the  attainment  of  Santa  Anna  to  political  supremacy. 
His  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  church,  or  his  policy  of  securing 
the  favour  of  so  powerful  a  portion  of  the  community,  induced  him 
to  take  immediate  stops  for  the  protection  of  the  property  and  priv- 
ileges of  the  Californian  priesthood,  and,  in  consequence,  to  check 
the  progress  of  immigration. 


CHAPTEH  XXI. 


EXPLORATION    OF     NEW    CALIFORNIA;     COLONEL     FREMONT'S 

SURVEY  OF   THE  SOUTH    PASS:    OVERLAND    EXPEDITION    OF 

1843-4:    THE  GREAT  SALT  LAKE:   RETURN  ROUTE:  TERRIBLE 

PASSAGE  OF  THE  SIERRA   NEVADA:    CAPTAIN  SUTTER'S 

SETTLEMENT:  SUBSEQUENT  EXPEDITIONS  OF  FREMONT. 

—  THE    GOLD    DISCOVERIES    IN    CALIFORNIA, 


The  adventurous  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  first  gave  to  the 
world  any  satisfactory  account  of  the  character  of  the  wilderness 
intervening  between  the  western  settlements  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Pacific  sea-board.  Before  the  accomplishment  of  their  remarka- 
ble journey,  all  that  was  known  of  that  territory  was  gathered  from 
the  Indians,  and  from  the  white  traders,  or  trai)pera,  who  had  pene- 
trated the  country  in  difi'erent  directions,  and  at  dillerent  times. 

A  long  interval  elapsed  between  this  first  achievement  and  the 
undertaking  of  any  systematic  survey  of  a  practicable  route  for  emi- 
grants. In  1842,  the  services  of  the  Hon.  John  Charles  Fremont, 
who  was  at  that  time  commissioned  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States'  corps  of  topographical  engineers,  were  called  into  requisition 
for  this  purpose.  Hq  had  been  previously  engaged  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  surveys  in  the  north-western  territory,  and  his  instructions 
at  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  were  to  make  an  exam- 
ination of  the  country,  and  to  report  upon  an  advisable  route  from 
the  frontier  settlements  of  Missouri  to  the  Great  South  Pass— thoa 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


419 


lOth  of  June.    The  party  wa.  provided  with  eigl,t  cart,  drawn  bv 

ments,  &c.,  and  four  oxen  were  taken  for  nrovi^mn      a^K^ 

all  mounted,  and  well  provided  with  arms  "  "^'"  "''" 

Platte  a  dX'n r"''  '7-  "°^?-^-*«riy  from  the  Kansas  to  the 
IJatte,  a  diftance  exceeding  three  hundred  miles,  which  was  trav 
ersed  m  sixteen  days.  Following  the  course  of  the  SoJhF  T 
the  party  reached  Fort  St.  Vrain.  at  the  cas  trffoot  ^fthl  /olv 
mountams,  on  the  10th  of  July,  one  month  from  the  day  of  depa  ^ 
ure.  They  arrived  at  the  South  Pass  near  tlie  middle  of  AuL 
and  entered  at  once  upon  the  principal  business  of  the  exptd^S' 

geological  LmaU^f  t^Xrr:tadraS^        1  ''' 
vey  of  the  whole  locality  was  carefullTrrerred'     The  LT    ^ 

Tmbfrk^gu^pon  h^^^^^^^^^  ^\  --^'-ble  value  to  tho'se 

of  the  Pacific  of  overland  emigration  to  the  shores 

The  exploring  expedition,  under  Commander  Wilkes   ret.rnor? 
a.  before  mentioned,  in  the  month  of  June  (18^     jT:  U.  ' 

an  accurate  survev  of  the  nnrth  woo/        ^        ^"  addition  to 

had  been  undertalfen  by  borcl tS  XhT^I"-""'  "f"^ 
in  Oregon  and  California'  and  i.  wretn'ideti  tirabTe  .r"'  '°* 

f™/M-:::it'i"s:rr""iv,utf^^",';r'''"-' 

.nj.l.t  be  opened  fnr.her  ^on.h,  rtk  1'  ,7,^  itfr^ 

--  wi.  .renr't:  ti^:::!^^^^  - --- 


iing 


'120 


TIIK    I'KOl'LE'a    HOOK    OK    IllHTOKV 


yi>ar.  Tlioy  set  out  uj)on  tlu;ir  pcriloua  journey  on  the  2i)lh  of 
May,  18K5. 

"  A  detour  through  the  mountains  brouglit  them  upon  the  waters 
of  the  Hear  river,  wliich  tliey  foih)wed  to  its  (UsbouchonuMit  into  the 
(treat  Salt  Ijake.  In  a  frail  boat  of  inflated  India-rubber  eloth,  a 
jiartial  .survey  was  effected  of  this  remarkable  phenomenon  of  nature, 
concerning  which  the  only  knowledge  before  obtaiiuid  had  Ikhmi 
from  the  wild  reports  of  the  Indians,  and  hunters  who  had  occa- 
sionally visited  it.  Jjittlo  did  the  adventurous  explorers  dream  of 
the  clumge  that  a  few  years  would  bring  about  upon  those  remote 
and  desolate  shores.  The  party  Icfl  their  cam[)  by  tho  lake  on  tlio 
rith  of  Septendjer,  and,  proceeding  northward,  reached  the  plain.s 
of  the  Colund)ia  on  the  18th,  'in  sight  of  the  famous  Tiiree  lUiltcs, 
a  well-known  land-mark  in  the  country,  distant  about  forty-five  iniliu' 

"In  the  month  of  Novend)cr,  having  reached  Fort  Vancouver, 
and  fully  accompUshed  the  duties  a.ssigned  him,  Colonel  Fremont 
set  out  on  his  return  by  a  new  and  dangerous  route.  Nothing  but 
a  perusal  of  the  jourmd  of  the  expedition  can  convey  an  ade(piale 
idea  of  the  dangers  and  difficulties  attendant  upon  tho  remaimler 
of  this  enterprise,  in  which  the  complete  circuit  was  made  of  that 
immcn.se  and  unexplored  basin  lying  between  the  Sierra  Nevada 
and  the  Wahsatch,  or  Bear  river  range  of  tho  Rocky  mountains;  a 
region  thus  laid  down  in  FrcTuont's chart:  'The  Great  Basin:  diam- 
eter 11°  of  latitude:  elevation  above  the  sea,  between  four  and  live 
thousand  feet:  surrounded  by  lofty  nu)untains:  contents  almost 
unknown,  bfit  believed  to  be  filled  with  rivers  and  lakes  wliich 
have  no  conirnunieation  with  the  sea,  deserts  and  oases  which  have 
never  been  explored,  and  savage  tribes  which  no  traveller  has  scon 
or  described.' " 

This  journey  of  more  than  three  thousand  miles,  through  a  wiklcr- 
ncss  inhabited  only  by  roving  Indians,  and  in  the  face  of  tho  ino-st 
appalling  natural  obstacles,  called  forth  the  excrci.se  of  heroism, 
fortitude,  and  bodily  endurance,  of  which  few  men  would  be  foiuul 
capable.  The  pas.sage  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  which  occu|)ied  several 
weeks  at  the  close  of  the  winter  and  in  the  early  spring,  was  tha 
most  dangerous  and  trying  achievement  of  this  unj)arallcled  march, 
In  the  midst  of  snow  and  ice,  pushing  their  way  by  an  unknown 
route  through  stupendous  mountains,  in  uncertainty  as  to  the  for- 
tunes of  each  succeeding  day,  and  suffering  the  extremes  of  desti- 
tution and  exposure,  the  hardy  adventurers  pressed  forward  with 


0  29lh  of 

U>o  wutors 
it  into  tho 
iv  cloth,  a 
of  iiiituro, 
liiid  l)(!oii 
liud  occii- 

1  droiitii  of 
>H0  renioto 
iko  oil  tlio 
tlio  plaiiiH 

'00  ]Ullt<\4, 

five  miles.' 
'^atioouvcr, 
1  I'^roinoiit 
Jlliiiig  l)ut 
I  U(lei|u;ilo 
roiiuiiiiilor 
1(1 0  of  that 
nx  Ncvaihv 
mntaiiis;  a 
sin:  diam- 
ir  and  live 
iits  almost 
.kos  which 
diicli  have 
ir  has  seen 

li  a  wilder- 
f  tho  most 
f  heroism, 
d  be  found 
lied  several 
g,  was  tlia 
sled  march, 
I  nidcnowii 
to  the  for- 
33  of  dosti- 
•ward  with 


TllJi   UNITED   STATES. 


421 


invincible  courage  and  resolution.    The  flesh  of  their  mules  and 
reduced  to  a  miserable  condition  from  the  impossibility  of  procurincr 
Zet^r  ''-'  '  ''''  ''-'  -'  ^--^^"-  herbVw:  :d 
When  they  had  at  last  successfully  passed  the  mountain  ran^e  and 

o  rfowr ^^^^  %  '''  '^'"  ''  ^  ^"^^"°--.  ^--  i^  -then; 
sources  toward  the  Sacramento,  had  reached  a  more  hosoitablo 
region  ,t  wa.  found  that  two  of  the  party  were  labour  nguTdefan 
aberration  of  mind,  from  the  effects  of  anxiety  and  hardship  "One 
of  them  Derosier.  who  had  stayed  behind  for  the  purpose  of  brW 
ing  up  a  favourite  horse  of  Colonel  Fremont,  on  rejoining  th  p  tv 
m  the  words  of  the  narrative,  'came  in,  and  sittinglwn'by  the  fi  e' 
began  to  tell  us  where  he  had  been.  He  imagined  he  had  been 
gone  several  days,  and  thought  we  were  still  at  the  cam^  where  he 
had  left  us ;  and  we  were  pained  to  see  that  his  mind  waL  deranged. 

■^''"^^  were  severe  when  stout  men  lost  their  minds 
from  extremity  of  sufFering-when  horses  died-and  when  mules 
and  horses,  ready  to  die  of  starvation,  were  killed  for  food  Yet 
there  was  no  murmuring  or  hesitation.' " 

On  the  6th  of  March,  the  advance  party  arrived  at  the  Indian 
seu^ments  a  few  miles  from  the  confluene'e  of  the  American  tk 
with  the  Sacramento  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  learning  their 
Su ter  ZV"  '"tr-\''""^"^  "  '^'  employment  of  Captain 
American  Prr  ''^""^^''^T'  °^  '^''  ^"*«^Fi«i»g  Pioneer  of  the 
American  Cahfornian  settlements-known  as  Sutter's  fort-the 
party  was  hospitably  received  and  entertained 

•'Captain  Sutter  emigrated  to  this  country  from  the  western  part 
of  Missouri,  in  1838-9,  and  formed  the  first  settlement  in  the  valW 
on  a  large  grant  of  land  which  he  obtained  from  the  Mexican  .ov^ 
ernment.     He  had,  at  first,  some  trouble  with  the  Indians;  but  by 
the  occasional  exercise  of  well-timed  authority,  he  has  succeeded  in 
converting  them  mto  a  peaceable  and  industrious  people      The 
ditches  around  his  extensive  wheat-fields;  the  making  of  the  sun- 
dned  bricks,  of  which  his  fort  is  constructed;  the  ploughing,  har- 
rowing, and  other  agricultural  operations,  are  entirely  the  work  of 
these  Indians,  for  which  they  receive  a  very  moderate  compensation 
-principally  in  shirte,  blankets,  and  other  articles  of  clothin- "* 
At  the  fort,  was  a  garrison  of  forty  Indians ;  and  about  thirt/white 
*  Fremont's  Narrative. 


j^ 


422 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OK  HISTORY. 


men,  of  various  trades  and  occupations,  were  in  Sutter's  employment. 
Iinmonse  fields  of  grain,  numerous  work-shops,  and  vessels  lying  in 
the  river,  attested  the  wealth  and  enterprise  of  the  proprietor, 

Fremont  and  his  company  took  their  departure  from  this  vicinity 
on  the  24th  of  March,  and  reached  the  village  of  Kanzas,  on  the 
Missouri,  on  the  Slst  of  July,  1844, 

,Upon  his  second  overland  expedition  to  the  Pacific,  undertaken 
in  1845,  while  engaged,  in  accordance  with  his  instructions,  in  sci- 
entific exploration,  Colonel  Fremont  received  intelligence  of  tlio 
existence  of  war  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States,  He  imme- 
diately enlisted  a  mounted  force,  and,  commencing  active  military 
operations,  met  with  distinguished  success.  The  difficulties  in  which 
he  became  involved,  in  consequence  of  conflicting  claims  of  his 
superiors,  have  been  before  alluded  to. 

At  a  still  later  period,  his  restless  spirit  of  enterprise  induced  him 
to  undertake  a  private  adventure  for  the  discovery  of  a  southern 
and  more  direct  land-route  to  California,  For  this  purpose,  he  col- 
lected a  company  of  about  thirty  men,  and,  provided  with  more  than 
one  hundred  mules,  commenced  his  journey  westward.  The  incle- 
mency of  the  season  proved  disastrous.  Upon  the  Sierra  San  Juan,  « 
being  overtaken  by  snow-storms  and  severe  weather,  the  party  lost 
their  entire  stock  of  mules,  and  many  of  their  number  perished  from 
cold  and  starvation  before  their  indomitable  leader  could  procure 
them  aid  and  sustenance,  lie  proceeded  on  foot  to  Santa  Fe,  where 
he  met  with  re^dy  assistance.  With  renewed  outfit,  he  persever- 
ingly  accomplished  the  purpose  of  the  expedition,  and  made  his  way, 
by  the  southern  route,  to  the  Californian  settlements. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  cession  of  California  to  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  the  treaty  concluded  at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo, 
occurred  the  astonishing  developments  of  unexpected  mineral  wealtli 
in  the  new  territory,  "That  these  treasures  should  have  remained 
so  long  concealed  from  the  occupants  of  the  territory  seems  unac- 
countable, when  we  consider  the  proverbial  keenness  of  the  Spaniard 
in  the  search  for  native  gold,  and  the  experience  acquired  by  cen- 
turies of  practical  operations  in  the  mines  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  Tlie 
fact  only  proves  how  completely  the  country  was  neglected  by  the 
more  enterprising  and  efficient  portion  of  the  community. 

"The  first  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  excite  public  attention,  was  made  in  the  spring  of  1818,  by  Mr. 
James  Marshall,  who  had  been  employed  by  Captain  Join/ A.  Sut- 


oymont. 
lying  in 
3r. 

vicinity 
,  on  tho 

lertaken 
3,  in  8ci- 
)  of  tho 
e  imme- 
military 
n  which 
1  of  hi3 

ced  him 
outhern 
he  col- 
)re  than 
e  incle- 
n  Juan,  ' 
irty  lost 
2d  from 
procure 
>,  where 
srsever- 
lia  way, 

United 
[idulgo, 
wealth 
mained 
s  unac- 
Daniard 
by  cen- 
.  The 
by  the 

nantity 
by  Mr. 
\.  Sut- 


r 


TllK    UNITKD  HTATJ58. 


428 


i..g  from  tl,„  cMtwurJ.    Tl,»   ouUnnf.f..^       "?'''■  """• 
n.iU..»  fr„mNo„  n„|.„u^  „r  iiZXl:l  *""  '*"■"  '"'' 

"One  of  the  earliest  authentic  reports  of  tlm  p^^^, 

iviigust,  184H,     In  dcHcribinij  h m  first  vi«lt  fr.  ti,„  i-     •         , 
occ,,,,,  which  .e„  ,o  .he  aiJ.Zlm:J'"°  °  "'°"'"'  °^  ''"" 

with  ™mci»nt  rapidity.    Mr  M««h«n  ,„?     7 ,        ■;      '"  ™""''° 
directly  into  tl  Jrace'witl  r.^'rrlri:  t  t'o'      ,  """  "",'" 

:::c;?:car!]:at:,:'/:  rr-  - -- trinrj 
Lwa«„rrwi.^h:':  r  ra:;:;.o?r;r,"'-"r''"'' 

got  out,  and  spread  like  magic.  •^^'  ^''^^«^«'". 

" '  Remarkable  success  attended  the  labours  of  ihn  flr=f        i 
and,  in  a  few  weeks,  hundreds  of  men  were  drawn   >,T      '^  "T' 

were  employed.'"  "PwarUs  of  four  thousand  people 

In  this  exciting  pursuit  the  utmost  improvidence  was  exhibited 
ad  the  necessary  consequence  was  a  sudden  and  unpre^edTnt  d  ad 
vance  m  the  prices  of  all  articles  of  common  necessfty     u"!  tt 
first  intelligence  of  the  position  of  affairs  in  cJcZt'     ^^""/'^ 

::r:;r=i-x^-F9-r-^"^ 

ecu,.,  re,,eh  thci.  p.aee  of  <lS,L::^\^J!;^.^Zr^- 


42-i 


THE   rKOl'LK'S    HOOK    OF    HISTOKV. 


Horn,  much  real  destitution  was  felt,  and,  although  the  yield  of  the 
wasliings  was  exceedingly  rich,  the  chief  profits  of  the  mining  oper- 
ations were  appropriated  by  those  who  were  enabled  to  cater,  at  the 
most  exorbitant  and  fabulous  rates,  for  the  physical  wants  of  the 
labourers  at  the  mines. 

The  cargoes  which  first  arrived  at  San  Francisco  yielded  enormous 
returns;  but  iu  some  articles  the  market  was  speedily  overstocked, 
and  heavy  losses  were  sustained  by  those  whose  adventures  failed  to 
correspond  with  the  demand.  One  cause  of  great  embarrassment  to 
ship-owners  was  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  a  crew  for  the  return 
voyage.  Previous  contracts,  forfeiture  of  wages  already  earned,  and 
extravagant  offers,  generally  failed  to  outweigh  the  strong  temptation 
held  out  to  the  able-bodied  labourers  at  the  mines. 

It  is  a  most  satisfactory  reflection  that  other  and  far  more  im- 
portant ends  than  the  collection  of  gold  will  be  accomplished  by  the 
settlement  of  California.  The  soil  is,  in  many  locations,  exceedingly 
productive ;  and  when,  with  the  increasing  population,  labour  shall 
have  been  applied  to  the  development  of  the  agricultural  resources 
of  the  country,  the  new  state  will  be  entirely  self  dependent.  Not 
only  as  a  producing  country,  but  as  a  great  commercial  df'pdt,  Cali- 
fornia bids  fair  to  rival  the  most  wealthy  and  prosperous  of  the 
United  States.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  concerning  the  estab- 
lishment, in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  of  a  railroad  line  which  shall 
directly  unite  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  traversing  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  continent.  With  the  accomplishment  of  this  undertaking 
will  commence  a  new  era  in  commerce,  and  the  wealth  of  eastern 
Asia  will  reach  the  civilized  world  by  a  new  mode  of  transit.  Al- 
ready has  a  road  been  more  than  half  completed,  by  which  freight 
will  be  transported  across  the  Isthmus,  and  the  necessity  for  t)ie  long 
and  hazardous  voyage  round  the  Cape,  or  the  Horn,  be  obviated:  at 
Tehuantapec  facilities  offer  for  a  route  still  more  direct ;  but  when 
the  gro?*^  overland  line,  carried  through  in  spite  of  all  natural  obsta- 
cles, shall  once  be  fairly  established,  it  must  take  the  principal  share 
of  travel  and  transportation.  When  we  consider  the  rapidity  with 
which  our  western  settlements  have  extended,  with  no  facilities  for 
the  conveyance  of  produce  to  a  market  other  than  the  natural  ad- 
vantages of  navigable  streams,  we  can  scarcely  be  guilty  of  extrava- 
gance, in  whatever  terms  we  may  speak  of  the  future  growth  and 
development  of  the  region  to  be  traversed  by  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  railroad. 


THE   UNITKU  STATES. 


425 


The  population  Of  California,  as  given  by  the  census  of  1850 
amounted  m  round  nurnbens,  to  two  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  • 
but  so  shifting  waa  its  character,  and  so  constant  the  influx  of  emi! 
gration,  that  this  estimate  was  scarcely  more  than  conjectural,  and  a 
new  census  has  been  accordingly  ordered. 


CHAPTER   IIIL 

'Mr.r.T'''  ~^'"'''''''^''''^'  '"  ZACIIARY  TAYLOR  AND 
MH-LAUD  FILLMORE:   ADMISSION  OF  CALIFORNIA  INTO  T 'I  K 
UNION:  DEBATE  UPON  THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION:  THE  COM- 
PROMISE: JiXPEDITIONS  OF  NARCI8S0  LOPEZ.— STATIS- 
TICS.—FR  A  NK  LIN  PIERCE  PRESIDENT:  JAPAN:  THE 
NEBRASKA  QUESTION. 

The  year  preceding  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  a  move- 
bTrdcrTf  tf  r  "'  '7  the  establishment  of  a  settlement  upon  the 
border  of  hat  region  described  by  Fremont  as-the  "Great  Basin " 
of  the  west.  The  character  of  the  expedition,  the  motives  and  ex- 
pectations of  those  engaged  in  it,  its  visible  effects,  and  probable 

1  .c^lrr'''"^"'"''''  '?^  *"  '"''""^'^  ^'^^  «^"king  contrast  to  the 
)ro^ress     "^^''cenary  characteristics  of  Californian  emigration  and 

Driven  by  persecution  from  their  settlement  at  Nauvoo,  the  Mor- 
mons,  in  846,  established  themselves  temporarily  in  lo.a,  and  a  - 
terwards  farther  westward,  upon  the  bank  of  the  Missouri.     Their 

allow  oT^rf  '?'  f''  '"'•""^'"*  of  a  situation  so  isolated  as  to 
allow  of  the  free  development  of  their  peculiar  system,  and  yet  suf- 

comminif  '*''''  ^  '"^^^^  ^'^  *^'  necessities  of  an  independent 
The  present  age  has  witnessed  no  religious  or  sectarian  delusion 
of  so  gross  a  character,  and  yet  so  ably  and  enthusiastically  supported. 
Its  late  origin  presents  to  the  view  all  that  is  low  and  disgusting  in 
bare-faced  trickery  and  imposture;  but  its  present  position^  attained 
and  uphehi  by  fanaticism  and  sensuality,  two  of  the  most  effective 
agents  which  can  render  evil  powerful  and  error  contagious,  has 
assumed  a  character  in  some  sort  respectable  and  undeilbi;  for- 


426 


THE  PEOPLE'S  BOOK  OF  II18T0UY. 


niidable.  Persecution  has  had  its  customary  effect,  in  investing  its 
victims  with  dignity,  in  arousing  all  their  powers  of  resistance,  and 
in  awakening  the  sympathies  of  all  averse  to  injustice. 

"In  other  ages,  this  dangerous  form  of  a  religious  mania  would 
have  had  its  legitimate  manifestation  in  crusades  against  property, 
and  in  the  foundation  of  a  new  state  and  church  on  the  ruins  of  some 
woiiker  and  less  vigorous  structure  of  superstition;  at  present,  its 
more  honourable  and  profitable  mission  is  to  afford  a  field  of  harm- 
less action  for  uneasy  spirits,  and  to  build  up  a  new  nation  in  the 
remotest  wilderness. 

*  *  *  "It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  polygamy 
allowed  by  the  new  religion  is,  with  a  certain  class  of  minds,  a  very 
powerful  incentive  for  conversion  to  its  tenets,  and  a  strong  prompter 
to  fierceness  and  resolution  in  defending  tliom.  But  this  of  itself  is 
entirely  unsatisfactory  in  explanation  of  that  stern  and  eager  enthu- 
siasm which,  beyond  any  of  our  times,  has  distinguished  the  present 
manifestation.  Men  who  wish  for  several  wives  will  do  much  to 
obtain  them,  and  to  keep  them,  but  hardly  what  the  Mormons  have 
done  and  are  doing.  It  is  an  article  of  faith  not  exactly  suited  to 
the  production  of  heroes  or  of  martyrs;  and  tliat  the  elements  of 
such,  in  great  numbers,  may  be  found  in  the  Mormon  ranks,  no  man 
conversant  with  their  history  will  deny.  A  spirit  of  deeper  and 
more  respectable  error — the  spirit  of  faith  and  fanaticism,  almost 
invariably  fierce,  vehement,  and  enduring,  in  proportion  to  the  folly 
and  puerility  of  its  creed — has  been  the  main-spring  of  this  extra- 
ordinary movement,  and  remains  a  problem,  as  insoluble  as  any  of 
the  same  class  which  have  preceded  it."* 

The  progress  of  the  Mormons  westward  was  delayed  and  embar- 
ras.sed  by  a  requisition — promptly  and  honourably  complied  with — 
for  five  hundred  of  their  number,  to  serve  in  the  Mexican  war. 
After  a  winter  of  great  destitution  and  suffering,  occasioned  by  this 
withdrawal  of  the  most  efficient  portion  of  their  community,  the 
exiles  fitted  out  an  advance  party  to  explore  the  country  and  fix 
upon  a  location  for  the  future  settlement.  By  the  route  of  the 
South  Pass,  these  pioneers  made  their  way  across  the  mountains,  and 
directed  their  course  towards  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  They 
reached  their  place  of  destination  in  the  month  of  July,  1847.  A 
settlement  was  immediately  commenced,  and  the  site  of  a  capital 
was  chosen. 

♦  Disi'overcrs,  &c.,  of  Amcricii. 


THE   UNITED  STATES. 


427 


Before  the  setting  in  of  winter,  several  thousands  of  .ho  sect  had 

pracftab.hty  of  transporting  any  considerable  store  of  provisions 

destitution  httlo  short  of  starvation ;  but  nothing  could  abate  the 
energy  or  damp  the  enthusiasm  of  this  singular  people.  The  work 
o    building  and  agricultural  preparation  was  uninterm itted  and'n 

Jr^.  '\"'''  "f'i'  °"  '^'^  '"'^'^'  '''«  ^^°^^""«  have  steadily  pur- 
sued a  ystem  of  colonization  by  fitting  out  expeditions  for  ex^,lora 
ion  and  settlement.     These  are  particularly  extended  ZJ^Z 
lacific  coast     According  to  the  lieport  of  Captain  Stansbury    <'I 

the  ultimate  object  of  the  Mormons,  by  mean   of  stations  whl^eve 
the  nature  of  the  country  will  admit  of  their  settlinr-,;  nlbe  3 
sufficient  for  self-defence,  to  establish  a  lino  of  commun    atbn  w  th 
U  e  I  acific  so  as  to  afford  aid  to  tlieir  brethren  coming  from  abroad 
while  on  their  pilgrimage  to  the  land  of  promise.     Thes^s'atio  is 
will  gradually  become  connected  by  farms  and  smaller  settlnn 
wherever  practicable,  until  the  greater  part  of  the  way  wTll  ex  iirn!; 
long  line  of  cultivated  fields,  from  the  Lrmon  ca^  to  San        ^ ' 

Ihe  colony,  self-incorporated  in  1849  as  the  state  of  Deserci  now 

successfully  engaged  in  various  parts  of  the  world  in  procuHn! 
proselytes  to  the  faith ;  and  the  community  is  constantly  incr  a  ,2 
m  power  and  importance.     Their  president,  Brigham  Younl      "^ 

are  ominous  of  future  contumacy.  '^'''^''' 

One  noticeable  efiect  of  the  war  with  Mexico  has  been  fn  h,- 
forwircl  n  llr^c.^■  ^1?        •       ,  iv-Aii.u,  ucis  oeen  to  brino' 

remariv,  happilj,  docs  not  apply  to  many  successful      | 


428 


TIIK  rKOl'LE'S    HOOK   OF  HISTORY. 


cun(lidatc8  for  popular  favour,  whose  worth  and  abilities  miglit  have 
romuineil  unappreciated,  but  for  the  hiat  of  their  servioos  in  the  war. 

The  influoiico  of  the  national  fondness  for  military  renown,  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  presidential  election  of  1848.  Tlie  candi- 
dates of  the  respective  parties  were  Lewis  Ca.ss,  of  Michigan,  and 
Zuoliary  Taylor,  of  Louisiana.  General  Taylor,  receiving  the  electoral 
majority,  was  inaugurated  on  the  5th  of  March  ensuing.  Millard 
Fillmore,  of  New  York,  was  chosen  vice-president. 

At  the  congressional  session  of  1849-50,  the  application  of  Cali- 
fornia for  admission  to  the  Union,  in  connection  with  the  necessity 
for  organizing  a  territorial  government  in  Utah  and  New  Mexico, 
gave  rise  to  the  most  violent  and  protracted  debate.  A  proviso, 
previously  introduced  by  Mr.  Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania,  relative 
to  the  exclusion  of  slavery  in  the  formation  of  new  states,  beinnf 
insisted  upon  by  members  from  the  free  states,  the  whole  question 
was  made  a  theme  for  angry  and  extravagant  declamation.  Several 
months  passed  without  the  accomplishment  of  any  importiint  legis- 
lation, the  time  of  congress  being  taken  up  by  stormy  and  unprofit- 
able debate — too  often  by  disgraceful  personal  controversies. 

Early  in  May,  a  committee  of  northern  and  southern  members, 
of  whicii  Mr.  Clay  was  chairman,  appointed  to  digest  some  scheme 
of  nmtal  concession  respecting  the  vexed  question  of  slavery,  and 
its  application  to  the  measures  in  contemplation,  made  report.  In 
the  compromise  thus  proposed,  very  little  was  conceded  to  the  claims 
of  the  members  from  free  states.  During  its  discussion,  and  before 
final  action  upon  cither  of  its  separate  items,  a  change  of  administra- 
tion took  place.  President  Taylor  died  on  the  9th  of  July,  1850, 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  vice-president,  Mr.  Fillmore. 

The  compromise  measures  were  separately  discussed  and  adopted, 
substantially  as  reported  by  the  committee.  Before  the  close  of  Sep- 
tember, the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Utah  were  organized 
witliout  anti-slavery  restrictions;  California  was  admitted  into  the 
Union;  the  Texan  boundary  at  the  north-west  was  established;  a 
bill  was  carried  containing  specific  provisions  for  the  recapture  of 
fugitive  slaves;  and,  in  tlie  District  of  Columbia,  over  which  con- 
gress exercises  exclusive  jurisdiction,  the  slave-trade  was  formally 
abolished. 

Daring  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1851,  great  cxcilcment  was 
caused  throughout  the  Union,  particularly  in  tlie  souiImth  states, 
by  the  events  connected  with  nn  attiMupt  at  the  overtlu'ow  of  Span- 


TlIK   UNITKD  HTATKS. 


429 


r  shnd  ^nTsfs  ?  "  ,Y>«-7«f"l  revolutionary  rnov 'nont'in 
110  island,  in  1848,  upon  tho  failure  of  that  enterprise  esciDe.l  to 
Ins  country,  and  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  plfn    L  an  expe 
dition,  to  proceed  from  tho  United  Stafp^  nn,i  ,    '^ 

efforts  of  the  disalfected  party  in  Cuba        '  ""''""^  "^'^  ^'^ 

That  such  an  undertaking  was  on  foot  soon  became  Kcnerallv 

^Znlt  t^filltT'""  ^^  ''-'''  ^^^^'«  Pre«ide:t,':trrgi; 
conaemn  ng  the  illegal  movement,  and  denouncing  those  enLr-iL^d 

countr"     t'  ''  T"  ^^"^'^'^^  '^"'^^  *»-  cxistlngrws   T 
country.     Ihe  expedition,  however,  was  favoured  by  a  large  ,  a  tv 
n  the  community,  and  Lopez,  having  enlisted  and  embarl    d  a 

tan      With  the  principal  portion  of  his  followers,  he  then  proceeded 
m  tho  steamer  Creole,  to  the  port  of  Cardenas,  ^n  the  n^t  Ish^^^^^ 
of  Cuba,  where  a  landing  was  effected  on  tho  19th  of  July  18o0 
After  some  sharp  skirmishing  with  the  Spanish  troonf  posted  in 

t  wn' a^^he     '""1"^  'Z''  ^'^^^'"^'^  ^^^^^^^  po  Jssi  n    f  t 
town,  and  the  general  was  fully  expectant  that  the  revolutionarv 

sCVv  dent Ir  tT"  '"^^"  *"  ^'"'^  ^'^  «'^-^-^-     '^  w^s  Wve^ 
Ze  ao  u  tti    "^"'"^^^'^^^^^    '^'^^  '"  -hat  appeared  L 
tt  as  rnirt    !       "'^^  and  a3  large  forces  from  Havana  and  Ma- 
an/as  might  bo  momentarily  expected  upon  the  scene  of  action 
a  rc'embarkation  was  effected    arx/i  +!,„  •        i  aciion, 

United  States.  '     ^  *^'  '"^^'^"^'^  ^^^"'"^^^   *"   ^he 

In  no  wise  discouraged  by  the  result  of  the  first  expedition  Lodo. 
continued  his  correspondence  with  the  revolutionii,  a  7^.^  L 
renewed  confidence  from  their  representations,  again  existed  a        H 
bo  yol  adventurens,  mostly  citizens  of  tho  Ur'ted  Sta^      ;.     i 
purpose  of  a  second  invasion  ' 

]owc:s''L"'tded''"rp;  ''^'  '''''  "'^'  ^^'""^  ''^'  h-''-^  ^"1- 
owers,   he   landed    at   Pky.tas,  some  sixty  miles  westward  from 

avana      Leaving  one  hundred   and  twenty  men,  undlr  Col^  d 

Cnttendcn,  in  charge  of  the  baggage.  Lopez  marched  hi    forces  to 

on    he  day  following  by  a  body  of  eight  hundred  Spanish  troops 

mam  b  I    T.  f  ,^""«"f "'«  P-^y  eflbcted  a  junction  with  th! 
mam  body.     Most  of  the  others  were  taken  prisoners,  and  shot. 
Victorious  against  enormous  odd.  in  u  .second  buttle,  but  failing 


'  .J 


430 


THE   l'KOPLE'8   BOOK    OK    HISTORY. 


to  receive  accessions  to  their  force  from  among  the  Creoles,  Lopez 
and  his  followers  were  soon  broken  down  by  fatigue,  exposure,  and 
famine.  The  general  voluntarily  surrendered  himself  to  the  enemy. 
lie  could  scarce  hope  for  mercy  from  a  government,  for  the  over- 
throw of  which  he  had  so  long  devoted  his  whole  energies.  He  was 
executed  on  the  1st  of  September,  by  the  infamous  garotte — meeting 
his  fate  with  calmness  and  dignity,  and  exclaiming,  with  his  latest 
breath,  "I  die  for  my  beloved  Cuba!" 

No  further  imminent  danger  being  apprehended,  and  a  sufficient 
example  having  been  already  made  by  the  summary  vengeance 
taken  upon  the  leader  and  the  men  of  Crittenden's  detachment,  the 
other  prisoners  were  leniently  dealt  with.  They  received  a  pardon 
from  the  Spanish  government,  after  a  short  imprisonment. 

The  Captain-General  of  Cuba,  at  this  period,  was  Don  Jos6  de  la 
Concha;  a  man  who,  although  of  a  stern  and  unyielding  disposition, 
enjoys  a  far  higher  reputation  for  integrity  than  most  of  those  who 
have  held  a  similar  position  in  the  island.  His  recent  restoration  to 
office,  in  place  of  Pezuela,  has  caused  much  apparent  enthusiasm 
among  the  inhabitants. 

The  few  years  that  have  elapsed  since  the  close  of  the  Mexican 
war,  have  witnessed  a  vast  change  in  the  aspect  and  resources  of 
the  United  States  and  their  territory.  A  frequent  and  regular  com- 
munication with  the  Old  "World  has  been  established  by  lines  of 
ocean  steamers,  and  the  tide  of  immigration  pours  in  unccasingl}-. 
The  population  of  the  eastern  states,  notwithstanding  the  constant 
and  enormous  drain  occasioned  by  the  opening  of  a  new  field  for 
enterprise  and  exertion  at  the  far  west,  is  steadily  on  the  increase. 
The  influx  of  gold  from  California  and  Australia  has  added  greatly 
to  the  nominal  value  of  every  species  of  property,  and  has  given 
faciliiies,  unfortunately  too  extensive,  for  speculations  and  extra- 
vagant undertakings. 

The  number  of  states,  by  the  admission  of  California,  was  increased 
to  thirty-one.  Arkansas  became  a  state  in  1835 ;  Michigan,  tho 
twenty-sixth,  in  1837;  Florida,  Iowa,  and  Wisconsin,  in  18-15,  'G, 
and  '7,  consecutively.  The  total  population  of  the  United  Slates 
and  teri'itories,  judging  from  the  mean  ratio  of  increase  lor  the  past 
sixty  years,  must,  at  the  present  time,  (1851,)  considerably  exceed 
twenty-five  millions.  The  entire  slave  population,  at  the  census  of 
1850,  amounted  to  3,178,055.  The  value  of  domestic  products  ex- 
ported during  the  year  ending  .Tune  .-JOtli,  1858,  was  $213,417,697; 


TWELFTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNIIiiD  STATES. 

BORN  IN  1784  r  INSTALLED  INTO  OFFICE  1849  :  SERVED  UNTIL  HIS  DEATH, 
,  WHICH  TOOK  PLACE  JULY  9,  1860. 


5    ■/« 

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THE   UNITED   bTATKS. 


481 


that  of  foreign  commoditiea  exported  during  the  same  period,  was 
$17,558,460,  making  a  total  of  $230,976,157.  The  iinportationH  of 
this  year,  were  valued  at  $276,978,647. 

For  the  last  ten  years,  more  than  1,400  vessels,  upon  an  average, 
have  been  yearly  constructed  in  the  states  and  territories.  The  total 
tonnage  exhibited  by. the  returns  in  1853,  in  tons,  and  ninety-fifths, 
was  4,407,010  43.  »  J  . 

Franklin  Pierce,  president  of  the  United  States,  was  inaugurated 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1853.  Since  his  accession,  the  country  has 
remained  at  peace  with  other  nations,  and  in  a  condition  of  general 
prosperity.  The  most  noticeable  event  connected  with  our  foreign 
relations,  at  this  time,  is  the  successful  negotiation  of  a  treaty  wiUi 
Japan,  by  which  the  ancient  restrictive  policy  of  that  populous  and 
wealthy  empire  has  been  materially  relaxed. 

The  action  of  congress,  at  the  session  of  1853-4,  in  organizing  the 
territories  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  upon  principles  directly  in 
contravention  of  the  provisions  of  the  Missouri  r„mpromise,  has 
produced  a  degree  of  excitement,  and  an  alienation  between  the  slave- 
holding  and  free  states,  the  result  of  which  yet  remains  to  be  seen. 
It  has  been  said  that,  at  the  period  of  the  election  of  the  younger 
Adams  to  the  presidency,  "party  differences  in  America  had,  in 
foot,  ceased  to  be  founded  on  principle;  and,  as  such  differences 
must  always  exist,  they  came  to  base  themselves  upon  personal 
attachments  and  antipathies,  as  well  as  upon  territorial  divisions." 

A  change  somewhat  similar  may  be  observed  at  the  present  time. 
So  great  has  been  the  assimilation  of  sentiment  upon  points  formerly 
in  direct  controversy  between  the  two  great  parties  into  which  the 
country  was  divided,  and  so  many  causes  of  division  have  occurred 
upon  other  questions,  that  former  lines  of  political  separation  are 
scarcely  recognisable.  The  old  party  issues  are  dead;  and  a  more 
dangerous  source  of  contention  has  arisen. 

We  can  perceive  scarce  a  semblance  of  that  personal  animosity, 
a  few  years  since  so  disgracefully  prominent,  which  animated  indi- 
viduals of  the  opposing  parties,  and  entered  into  every  transaction, 
public  or  private,  however  disconnected  with  the  fancied  grounds 
of  dispute.  In  its  place  has  arisen  a  spirit  of  sectional  opposition, 
if  less  obtrusive  and  disgusting,  yet  far  more  stern  and  formidable. 
More  formidable,  because  no  longer  based  upon  a  meie  antagonistic 
party  feeling,  but  aroused  by  the  direct  appeal  of  interest;  and  be- 
cause it  is  difficult  to  foresee  by  what  stroke  of  policy,  or  what  course 
Vol.  IV. — oC 


432 


TIIK    PEOPLE'S    BOOK    0  8"    UISTOBY. 


of  evente  the  moote«l  point  can  be  finally  sot  at  rest,  and  the  demon 
of  discord  exorcised. 

Our  chief,  if  not  our  only  hope,  must  lie  in  the  reflection,  that  a 
Btill  stronger  and  more  universal  tie  of  interest  will  preclude  such 
husty  or  unreasonable  action,  by  either  party  for  the  time  in  the 
nacendnnt,  as  could  lead  to  open  rupture  between  different  sections 
of  the  Union.  Such  a  reflection  may  be  less  flattering  to  the  na- 
tional pride,  but  is  far  more  rensonnble,  as  a  ground  for  favour-ible 
anticipation,  than  any  recurrence  to  feelings  of  patriotism,  or  even 
of  political  honour. 

While  none  could  more  earnestly  deprecate  the  madness  of  seces- 
sion, or  of  a  voluntary  partition  of  the  confederacy,  we  can  but  say 
of  the  American  Union,  as  Lord  Crewe  says  of  the  name  of  Do 
Vore,  in  hia  celebrated  opinion  concerning  the  earldom  of  Oxford: 
"Time  hath  its  revolutions;  there  must  be  a  period  and  an  end  to 
all  temporal  things— ^nis  rerum;  an  end  of  names  and  dignities, 
and  whatsoever  is  terrene,  and  why  not  of  De  Vere?  *  °  # 
And  yet  lot  the  name  and  dignity  of  De  Vere  stand  so  long  as  it 
pleaseth  God." 


THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS. 


Nearly  midway  between  the  eastern  and  western  continents, 
and  a  little  southward  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  is  situated  the  Sand- 
wich or  Hawaiian  group  of  islands.  They  are  twelve  in  number, 
of  which  eight  are  inhabited,  the  others  being  barren  rocks.  Hawaii, 
the  largest  and  most  southerly,  has  a  triangular  form,  each  side 
measuring  eighty  or  ninety  miles.  The  others,  of  which  the  most 
considerable  are  Maui,  Lanai,  Molokai,  Oahu,  and  Kaui,  form  a 
chain  extending  north-westerly  from  Hawaii,  a  distance  of  between 
three  and  four  hundred  miles. 

These  islands  are  of  volcanic  origin,  and  like  others  of  that  class, 
when  subjected  to  the  heat  of  a  tropical  sun,  present  to  the  eye  the 
most  beautiful  and  romantic  contrast  of  lofty  mountains,  fertile  val- 
leys, precipices  of  rugged  rock  or  lava,  and  plains  rich  with  the  most 
luxuriant  vegetation.  For  eq.iability  of  climate,  variety  of  produc- 
tion, and  beauty  of  natural  scenery,  perhaps  no  spot  on  earth  can 
offer  superior  advantages. 

Vagu-'  reports,  gathered  from  native  tradition,  or  from  ancient 
charts,  seem  to  establish  the  fact  that  these  islands  were  visited  by 
Spanish  vessels,  during  the  early  periods  of  American  discovery  and 
colonization ;  but  the  first  distinct  account  of  them  appears  in  the 
journal  of  Captain  Cook'9  last  voyage  of  discovery.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  January  18th,  1778,  land  was  made  at  the  western  extremity 
of  the  group,  and,  on  the  day  following,  as  the  ships  drew  near  shore, 
the  natives  came  off  in  canoes.  They  called  the  island  Atooi,  since,' 
by  a  change  in  orthography  and  a  more  correct  analysis  of  the  lan- 
guage, written  Kaui.  Upon  the  occasion  of  this  first  visit,  one  of 
the  natives  was  shot  for  thieving,  but  a  friendly  intercourse  was, 
notwithstanding,  maintained,  and  after  a  stay  of  a  fortnight,  the 
ships  sailed  for  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 

Upon  his  return,  near  the  close  of  the  year.  Captain  Cook  discov- 
ered and  landed  at  Hawaii.     He  remained  amontr  the  islands  until 


m 


II 


43i 


THE   TKOl-LK'S    IJOOK    OK    IlIStXOUY. 


February,  1779.  On  the  1  tth  of  that  month,  in  tlie  attempt  to  com- 
pel restitution  of  a  stolen  boat,  by  seizure  of  the  king  of  Hawaii, 
Kalaniopuu,  he  lost  his  life.  A  great  crowd  of  the  natives,  suspi- 
cious of  his  design,  gathered  round  the  king's  house.  Finding  it 
impracticable  to  carry  out  his  original  plan,  Cook  attempted  to  rocni- 
bark  on  board  his  boat  with  the  guard  which  had  accompanied  him 
on  shore.  Stones  were  thrown  and  shots  fired;  and,  just  at  the  edge 
of  the  water,  the  commander  was  stabbed  in  the  back  with  an  iron 
dagger,  which  one  of  the  islanders  had  before  obtained  by  barter. 
The  scene  of  this  fatal  event  was  the  landing  at  Kealekeakua  bav, 
on  the  western  coast  of  Hawaii. 

The  islands  were  not  again  visited  until  La  Perouse  touched  there 
in  1786.  After  that  time,  vessels  occasionally  put  in  for  water  and 
fresh  provisions,  and  in  1792  and  1794  Vancouver  made  some  stay 
at  the  group,  and  by  every  method  strove  to  conciliate  the  chiefs, 
and  establish  a  friendly  feeling  towards  foreigners.  The  violence  of 
the  latter,  and  the  treachery  of  the  natives  hud,  upon  several  occa- 
sions, resulted  in  hostility  and  bloodshed. 

ivleanwhile,  an  important  change  was  in  progress  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  islands.  Kalaniopuu  died  in  1780,  and  his  nephew, 
Kamehameha,  a  young  chief  of  great  enterprise  and  intelligence^ 
commenced  a  career  of  conquest  and  diplomacy,  which  he  pursued 
with  such  perseverance  and  vigour,  that,  in  1796,  he  had  obtained 
unquestioned  sovereignty  over  the  entire  group.  Throughout  liis 
reign,  which  lasted  until  his  death  in  .ALay  1819,  he  pursued  an 
honourable  and  sagacious  policy  towards  strangers,  encouraging 
trade,  and  protecting  the  persons  and  property  of  those  who  virited 
his  dominions.  His  son  Liholiho  succeeded  to  the  kingdom,  assum- 
ing the  title  of  Kamehameha  IT. 

Popul'ir  foith  in  tlie  old  system  of  idolatry  had  been  weakened 
by  long  intercourse  with  civilized  nations;  and"  the  new  king,  shortly 
.•ifter  his  accession,  set  the  example  to  his  people  of  an  open  breach 
of  the  rigid  restrictions  of  the  tahn,  by  which,  for  ages,  tlie  conduct 
of  the  natives  had  been  regulated  in  every  occupation  of  life,  under 
the  most  severe  and  cruel  penalties.  In  the  year  Ibllowing,  1820,  the 
first  n^.issionaries  from  America  arrived  at  the  islands.  Great  inter- 
est had  been  awakened  in  the  United  States,  by  the  aptness  nnd 
capacity  exhibited  by  several  Hawaiian  yoiubs/whose  instruction 
had  been  undertaken  by  the  American  board  of  missions. 

In    1824,  Liholiho,  with    his  wife,  Kanianiali,  visited    KuLdand. 


L 


J 


t  to  com- 
Ilawaii, 
3S,  suspi- 
inding  it 
to  roeiii- 
nied  liim 
the  edge 
1  ail  iron 
y  barter, 
cua  bay, 

ed  there 
ater  and 
mie  stay 
e  chiefs, 
ilence  of 
I'al  occa- 

govern- 
nephew, 
Iligence, 
pursued 
obtained 
lout  liis 
sued  an 
'uraging 
)  visited 

assum- 

3akened 
shortly 
breach 
3ondiK't 
!,  under 
^20,  the 
it  ii)ter- 
?ss  and 
^ruction 

iiL'Iand. 


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o 

a; 

ir 

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t\ 

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to 

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sy: 

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ed: 

wo 

nal 

hai 

poi 

Ila 

gio 

'i 

of 

WOl 

the 


THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS.  43- 

Thc^y  were/'-K  and  treated  with  great  attention  by  the  kin^  and 

.ng,  and  st.ll  retains  the  title,  a.  Kn.nehameha    II.     EeZt 
bat  period,  a  minor,  and  government  was  earried  on  by  IToin 
regency,  consisting  of  the  favourite  queen  of  Kamehameha  I    kTv 
humanu,  and  an  old  chief,  Kalaimoku,  a  man  of  great  sa^acitV  ami 
o.perience,  who  from  his  position  a.  premier  to  the  fonne    kin" 
was  commonly  known  as  Biliy  Pitt  °' 

PVom  the  time  of  their  first  arrival,  the  influence  of  the  protestant 
missionaries  has  been  maintained  in  snite  of  tl.n  !  P'^f  ^^*^"* 
opposition.     While,  on  the  one  hand  t^  11  fo^f  TeTr  iSt 

s"r^:r:;i-tr  t^Sr -^  -« Heenti::;:: 

other  the  most  false  and  ^JutusTalfmnt  Cf  Sti^^a 
and  believed  respecting  their  conduct  and  motives.  S  thev  have 
m  various  mstances,  encouraged  the  native  rulers  in  thelfo  « 
of  restrictive  laws  ill-suited  to  the  character  of  the  people  and  t 
they  have,  m  effect,  exercised  a  species  of  hierarcha^  auth;rity  1 1 t 
consonant  with  civil  and  religious  liberty,  is  but  too  appar  It  but 
It  must  be  considered  that  the  difficulties  of  their  posi  fofaTp^^^^^^^^ 
to  require  strong  measures.  appeared 

The  introduction  of  Catholic  prieste,  in  1827,  gave  occasion  for  a 
persecution,  with  which  the  Protestant  ^issionLrls  hav  been  u^^^ 
justly  charged  Many  proselytes  were  made  to  the  new  faith  befoi^ 
the  na  ive  authorities  took  the  matter  in  hand.  The  use  o  exte td 
symbols  appeared  to  the  king  and  his  counsellors  to  savou  too 
much  of  the  abrogated  worship  of  idols,  and  the  mos    Itrl.  "u 

wo':hirTir'  ^;'  "^'  ^"'^^^^  ^^-^'-^^  ^^^^  cathoiLi  m° : 

worship.  Ihe  priests  were  compelled  to  leave  the  islands  and  the 
natives  who  persistecl  in  following  their  instructions  w^re  v  v 
harshly  dealt  with.  In  1889,  a  compulsory  treaty,  enforced  by  a 
powerful  naval  armament,  was  entered  into  between  France  and  the 
Hawaiian  government,  by  which  general  right  of  residence  and  rU 
gious  toleration  were  secured  to  French  subjects 

The  future  destiny  of  the  Sandwich  islands  is  becoming  a  matter 
of    aily  .creasing  interest  to  the  great  maritime  nations  of    h 

zLilro  xi: td  ""nr^f'^^'"'"^"^  r^'  ^^^^ 

-iv-i.^auon,  ana  t^c  ihHua  of  foreigners.     They  were 


I 


436 


THE   PEOPLE'S    BOOK   OF   IIISTOKY. 


computed,  by  Captain  Cook,  at  a  rough  estimate,  to  n^^;Tlbe^  about 
400,000.  Since  the  first  regular  enumeration,  the  decreose  lias  been 
constant.  In  1832,  the  census  returns  exhibited  a  total  of  130,313; 
that  of  1848,  gave  but  80,641.  During  the  past  year,  (1853,)  tlic 
small-pox  carried  off  great  numbers.  As  a  separate  nation,  they 
must  soon  cease  "to  exist,  and  the  quesiion  of  future  sovereignty  over 
the  islands  will  become  of  grave  importance.  No  other  <U,pbt  exists 
throughout  an  immense  expanse  of  ocean,  for  vessels  engaged  in 
the  whaling  enterprise  in  the  North  Pacific;  and  the  opening  of  a 
new  channel  of  trade  with  the  East  Indies,  by  the  seltleinent  of  Cal- 
ifornia, has  rendered  the  possible  acquisition  of  the  Ilawaiian  islands 
by  the  United  States  a  subject  for  serious  discussion. 

Their  position  is  important,  from  its  remarkable  isolation.  Lying 
in  mid-ocean,  some  two  thousand  miles  from  any  other  habitable 
shore,  directly  in  the  track  of  a  vast  number  of  trading  vessels,  and 
central  to  the  most  extensive  and  valuable  whaling  ground  in  the 
world,  their  value  as  mere  stopping- places,  for  purposes  of  refitting, 
of  secure  harbourage,  and  the  procurance  of  water  and  fresh  pro- 
visions, is  at  once  manifest.  In  addition  to  these  advantages,  the 
islands  offer  peculiar  facilities  for  the  formation  of  an  extensive 
naval  and  military  stronghold.  The  harbours,  with  the  exception 
of  those  suited  to  vessels  of  light  draught  of  water,  arc  few  in  num- 
ber, and  capable  of  being  fortified  in  such  a  manner  as  to  defy 
attack,  while  the  nature  of  the  coast,  bold  and  precipitc^us,  or  de- 
fended from  approach  by  surf-beaten  reefs  of  coral,  would  preclude 
the  practicability  of  landing  forces  in  the  rear  of  the  fortifications. 

Such  an  establishment,  once  in  the  occu{)ation  of  a  powerful 
nation,  would  operate  to  exclude  the  marine  of  any  hostile  state  from 
safe  or  convenient  navigation  of  the  North  Pacific.  The  principal 
harbour  is  at  Honolulu,  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  of  Oaliu:  at 
most  of  the  other  ports,  largo  vessels  lie  in  open  roadsteads,  where 
they  can  at  most  seasons  ride  in  safety,  under  the  lee  of  the  land,  or 
in  positions  where  they  can  calculate  with  certainty  upon  the  direc- 
tion of  the  wind,  and  the  consequent  facility  for  getting  under  weigh. 

Even  under  U.i  limited  and  imperfect  system  of  cultivation  thus 
far  adopted,  the  agricultural  products  of  the  islands  are  by  no  means 
inconsiderable.  During  the  year  1852,  the  total  amount  of  supplies 
furnished  to  merchant  vessels,  whalers,  and  national  vessels,  was 
valued,  by  computation,  at  nearly  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
dollars.     According  to  custom-liouse  returns,  the  value  of  the  entire 


THE   SANDWICH   ISLANDS. 


487 


thou,  nd  dollars,  and  the  importations  of  that  period  were  of  a  con- 
siderably larger  amount. 

With  an  industrious  population  of  whites,  the  operations  of  aL^ri- 
culture  nnght  be  very  greatly  extended.     The  character  of  the  ^o  I 

ouir  ^i      ',r    '■  'frT''  ^'  ^°^«^"^«  '^^b-  -d  vegetable 
inould.     It  s  well  suited  for  the  cultivation  not  only  of  most  trop- 

™  vTdaTd?  ?  "'  '"'^  T'  ^"^"^  ^'^"^^^"^  --'d-d  pecu- 
l.a.b  adap  ed  to  a  temperate  climate.  The  most  astonishin..  yield 
is  m  the  article  of  kalo,  or  taro,  the  root  of  an  esculent  sped i  of 
arum,  which  has  always  formed  the  principal  article  of  food  among 
the  natives.  It  is  said  that  a  patch  of  land  forty  feet  square,  plant  I 
with  this  root,  will  produce  sufficient  support  for  one  person.^ 

I  he  cultivation  of  sugar  has  been  attended  with  profit  and  success  • 
cotton  IS  raised  without  difficulty  in  certain  locations;  banana  Id 
plantains,  more  valuable  to  the  poorer  classes  in  a  tripical  couiUry 
han  the  potato  in  our  own  climate,  grow  in  the  greatest  lux  la  cY 
and  requiring  little  labour  of  cultivation,  yield  an  enormous  return 
Maize,  wheat,  rice,  coftee,  indigo,  tobacco,  vegetable  oils,  ginger  &c 
can  be  produced  in  abundance.  The  list  might  be  extended  by  the 
enumeratK,n  of  most  of  our  own  garden 'vegetables  and  I  ^ 
Among  the  spontaneous  productions  of  the  forett.  sandal- wood  tas 
be  chief  article  of  export,  but  many  beautii'ul  varieties  of  ot 
nan  entul  woods  suitable  for  cabinet  purposes,  exist,  and  mi^ht  be 
made  a  source  of  profit.  ° 

miltC!n7^ '"'^''^";'  ^''  ""^''^  many  facilities  are  presented, 
might  greatly  increase  the  extent  of  fertile  territorv,  as  the  contiu 
ued  droughts  experienced  at  certain  seasons  constitute  a  ser  ous 
drawback  to  the  operations  of  the  agriculturalist.  Of  the  few  arti! 
cles  of  domestic  manufacture,  the  most  considerable  is  that  of  salt 
procured  by  evaporation.  It  is  ef  the  best  quality,  and  can  be  pro- 
duced in  the  greatest  abundance.  ^ 

An  advocate  of  the  acquisition  of  the  islands  by  the  United  States 
remarks  of  he  question,  (substantially,)  that  it  is  one  "of  necessit^ 
of  tune,  and  of  ustice.  By  necessity,  is  to  be  understood  lofn 
absolute  and  indispensable  need,  but  that  clear,  strong,  legible  cZ 
venience  and  fitness  which  the  common  undLrstandlng'sees  and 
fees;  and  when  this  convenience  and  fitness  shall  be  apparent 
and  the  parties  declare  themselves  ready  and  willing,  for  tie  con 
nection,  the  time  will  be  propitious,  a.d  L  justice  ^^ZZ:, 


438 


THE   PEOPLE'S   BOOK  OF  HISTOEY. 


for  no  question  can  well  arise  as  to  the  right  of  other  nations 
to  interfere." 

The  European  maritime  powers  look  with  great  jealousy  upon 
certain  movements,  already  in  progress  upon  the  islands,  and  aiiniiifr 
at  peaceable  annexation  to  the  United  States,  by  the  operation  of 
treaty  with  the  native  government.  In  a  memorial  to  the  king, 
dated  September  Ist,  1853,  the  French  and  British  consuls  made 
vehement  protest  against  the  scheme,  as  being  in  contravention  of 
former  treaties  with  their  respective  governments.  The  intrinsic 
value  of  the  islands,  especially  considered  in  relation  to  their  im- 
portance for  a  naval  and  commercial  station,  as  the  native  dynasty 
totters  to  its  fall,  may  yet  give  rise  to  a  disastrous  contest  for  their 
possession. 


THE    END. 


ll 


i 


■^"i^-^..: 


MILLARD    FILLMORE, 

THIUTKKNTH    rUESIDENT   OK  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

BCIRN    IN    ISOO;    HUrCKKOKD    TO   THK    I'RKHUIKNCY    BY  VIRTUE   OF  H18 

OKKICK  AS  VU'E  rRKHIDKNT,  ON  TTIK  DKATIT  OF  ZACHART  TAYLOR 

IN  1860 ;  BJiKVED  DURING  THE  REMAINDER  OF  THE  TERM. 


FRANKLiy    PIIIRCE, 

Fovimuurn  vuKmrnsr  ov  rm  unitki,  states 

BORN  m  N    HAMPSHIRE.  NOV.  .,  ,804  ;  IK8TALL.B  INTO  OFFICE  IN  1853. 


N( 


tlx 

Mill 

ntd 
iiilt 

/ 

m 
I 


Oni 

nil  In 
mid  I 
Inllii 
tliii  r 
wnm 

liriHH 
Ariiii 
wiimI 
Kwtin 
iHinli 
its" . 

iHai, 

Nu 


TIIM  SMAI.S  OF  Tfll-;  SKVKIIAL  STATUS  AND  OF  TIIK  lIMTIil)  STATFS 

IHK  OIIKIINAI.  STATKH  KIHHT-TIIK  OTIIKKN  IN  ari((.N()I.O(;l.:AI.  ..nl.Kll. 


Onii  nf  thn  (iriitliml  .Stiunr, 

SKAI.-A  nrniliir  lli'l.l,  nitrni Iml  hy  ri  Imirxl  wnnlli 

N..wliuM|.l.,M,"  Willi  II. ,I,.,17HI,, r,ii,,  «"„,",/ 

Urn  nil..|.  mil  nl  Oi„  mi„„  ,  i,,,,,,,.,,,,,,,      I,,,,,,  "^,  | '"      "  "I, 

Willi  11  liin  hiinlir  wiKnliimii    a  ym  m,,,,,,,)  ,,,„|,,,, „  , 

" I'I'i  i  ""'I  u  Hliipoii  III,,  ,|,«,|„,  ,„„  n  ,;  IJiir      inr 

iiiK,  Willi    In.  AM.„ri,:„ii  huiii,.,r  .!«  .  i.y.U  .,  ilJ  r,    "i   ,  f 

"""I "'"'''»'i'"k...ilh..«,,,  ,,r|,|,,,;,„|\;jf;'™''V., ,-.,- , „„„„  ,i,„iiiilin.„.  whil,.  ih* 

a^"]i"i= ' ^ ' =--"<  "'^^Jn'-nnr:^^^^^^^^^ 

No.  of  Ho|iri»iilaiiv...  in  ( ■iimr.u..,  :i ;  Kl„:luml  ■yiilrn,  6. 


Onnof  l(.iinhKiiiiilsiiili.« 

/^/?i,;j;ii:i:;!:s;;^^:;^£i;;K»!;'-  ;i'I^SS 

.liiiwrtu... yiilurH,  ,i„l,..|j».l.iiK  ||,„  Kr  iwi  ,V  i,r  «i»  r  I,  ,,f  llm 

i>HMiiiK  in 

Mu.  of  H«,„,w,,uiiv.«  III  (:„i,«r.«,  ■/;  Klcil'l  ,'*«,  i. 


Ono  of  till,  nnii.iiiil  siiii.  ~. 

SKA  I.  — <)ii  III,,  hliii.  Kniiiiia  i,f  ,,„  irroKiilnrly-fomiHl  ulii.ilil 

»""''"•"  '»  ' V"';"""''  ''"""""I  will. "...IIihI   ,,™,nV-i.  irt 

j.11,1  iiK«T««m«,  ,1  III,  rwhl  Imnil  inn  k„M„„  I»,w  >  I  i"i  In. 
M  11.1  iirrow  Willi  il,„  ,H„ia  .lownwunla     A  wiver  .1  r ,,  > 

II...  ri«lil  III.,... ,.» „f,|,„  |,„„„|  suUMiifAimr'a     A 

wri...ll.  foniw  II...  „r,.ii„i  i|,„  ,«,.„iol„.„n,  from  wli  -h  .. 


Ond  of  the  llriitiiiiil  Maru..,. 

.SKAI.  .— -rhi!  or.Kii.ul  Willi  iHiif  ...ii.vnl  fonn  wilhoi.f  nn. 

nwi.nl  Hill,  wnikii  .M.ui...  ii,..l..r  !,....«.. ..     ._......,       "'  '."«  Mull!  of  I  ■iiiiiKH^linii,"     111,,  nol,..i.i,l  «.i  I  i.....  -n 

•No.  o.  K..pro«.i,iutivo.  ui  U-iigma;  4 ;  ESral  viiS.,  a. 


.'■■; •" ',"■^  '"  "I"  tw<:.l.cil,.on,  Iroili  wlm-  1  nr 

..i.,li,  ,1  r.K III  nriii,  ,.|„il„,|  ,„„|  r„ir,Hl.  tl,«|.„„     "„„,'". 

':™lT.".::!'..i!i!:,.!r.:!'i.'.""""">  "'i'  '•.••  wh-i,  ,.r«':raj' 

»w,.r,l  «l...  Kiok.  |».«..„  ,i,.,|„r  |,|„.r,y."    Ar„iin,l  ll„,  rZil  ,r 

«J '• ,  "I  10  .Vol,  of  Iho ,S|„|„  „f  .M,ii„„..i„»,,n    ""*'""- 

;-.V«'<l"<m-— In  ITIKI, 378,717;  IHIXI,  lai-iis     mm  jT.o,n 

\m, ,«iOT,  IKK.,  ,ii...H»,   mio, r.i7,»i;',  im  1;?; *^f^° • 

No.  of  l(q.r.».„l«.,v,»  iu  Ccit-na,;  11  ;   KLxfi  vm' -i,  13. 


J 


410 


TlIK  I'KOl'I.K'H   HOOK  OF   IIUTOUY. 


Out)  iif  thti  (irtHiiiitl  Miiii«. 

NK.vi..-  A  tiltii'i<l,ni  i'N<'tiU-ht>nii,iitt  wliirli  !■  rftprriHtnlril 
lh«  tUntiN  NUii,  SMilt  It  niuuii  III  IiiIIn  iuhI  wtiliii  ill  tlin  foru' 
Knniiul  Alitvr  thd  fitiii'lil,  fin  llii<  itchi,  in  ii  wiriith  tiiir- 
iiiiHUilist  tiy  li  liitll'  kIoIm',  on  witirit  rmlM  ii  fitiiillt*(l  riitllr, 
with  wiitHM  iiuliitit>trlii>(l  Kill'  Ihi*  MUiiiNiriiMN  itf  llm  nIhi-IiI, 
mi  Dim  riKlit  w  ii'i)ii'wiili>il  thn  t)K<ii(<  u\  Jtntlun,  willi  Itm 
Nwnnl  III  niitt  huiul  nml  lIuiMmItu  iii  Uiit  udtnri  aikI  nil  Mm 
\o(\  titt*  (•i«|ili<KM  (if  l.ilHMiy,  witli  tlir  wiiiiil  mill  cup  in  hiT 
It'll  liiiiiil,  uiii)  iliti  iilivM  hniiu-lt  uf  |it!iii'(i  111  tittr  ritilit  Hn- 
low  till*  filiinlil  iNllio  iiiiittii,  hiXtfUior'  -  "  \Utw  vU^vixUhX  "—• 
iltitiWiiu  iliiii  iliM  oMiixt'  Kl'  tltt>  Nliild  IN  tifiiivjni  ntiil  hiohrr. 
Artmiiil  (hti  Ixtnlt^r  (il  iliM  wml.  iH'iwmit  twti  pluiu  htitm,  In 
thn  iitM'ntittiiu.  lit  Kiiiiiim  ('iii)i(iil<<,  "1  tin  (IivittNual  nl  thn 
MnUoi  Niiw  \t)ik  " 

l*,tt,utiitto$i  -  -llil7^Hl.:M0,iai)i  lrtlll,(VW,7M;  IHm.ftAIMHIl ; 

m^),Li;-j^i;j,  itiHi.  l,tiitvKiH,  lHtii,U.ti>i,irJi.  th.'4i,;i,ii>i7^im. 
Nil.  ul'  KupniMmluliviui  lu  1'(iiikiumi»^;  hluct'l  vuliw,  Ud. 


Oiw  of  till*  OrlRiiint  MiKiit. 

KKAl..---  Oit  a  whiif  MmIiI  in  im  iwulrhmin  partnl  |>y  r 
ypllitw  (ir  K"l«lrii  ImiiiI  m  Kit>"i<,  uit  wliirh  im  ri'WcM'ittiHl  k 
|<lniiDliiii  ilN  h.iiiiiiil  roliiiir.  Ill  till*  U|>|4ir  |iinl  nrihi*  nIikiIiI, 
It  kliip  iiiiiltir  lull  Nuil  IN  Hliiliim  ttiiiiMitlily  iivi<r  Ihn  wuvi'm  iY 
llin  hi<n,  witiih  iii'it  niiiimiiiiiiIhI  liy  tin  a/iimi  kky.  Al  tti« 
lowi'i  pint,  HI)  It  KK'cii  Mioiiiiil,  iiiti  llirt!!)  kiilili'ii  iilitinvMN  iif 
wlumi,  tlrtidliitH  thill  ttKnrullnif,  uh  Wiill  hh  i-iiiiuiimi'ti,  li 
oniMif  thn  iniiiiiiiv  rrhiiiH't'N  (il  tlin  Ntiirn  Ontltti  nithl  of 
tliti  ■liuililiNUkdilli  it|'iiiiii/ii.  iiiiiliiiklhti  It'll  itii  (ijivii  lifiinrti 
Kiir  tlin(-riiHt,(iiMi  wrnitli  of  nlivn  (Ittwi'iN,  m  iMTilictla  ImM 
I'lifllii,  Willi  wiiiuN  I'lii'iiiltit,  linliliitji  lit  tiN  JH'iik  II  liihfl,  Willi 
tliti  iiiiiKo,  **Viitiii<,  l.tlMtily,  niiit  liiil(tp«Miilriii'(<  "  Aiouii^i 
III!)  iii'iiuili  of  Did  M'lil  uiii  iJin  MoiiU,  "Niul  of  tliu  MttUi  til 
IViiiiHylviiniu  " 

I'itiuhitiim  ■-•  In  I  Tin  I,  111  I, 'in  ;  lHll(l.Urj;Mlft;  1H|0,HIOI)i)| - 

itOM^Miuf^;  iKtii,  i^UH;^i:t   iHio,i.rj-ui:t:i;  iHfi).y,:ui;H(i.* 

NU.  Uf  Jiu^lKMllltllUVUN   111   rtillKII'MI,  Z'l;    KluCl'l  VUtON,  V7 


Oudof  the  (lni:ni:il  Si;.h  >. 

NKaI, — A  \vhil«  Nhii'lit  i>r  i'*uii'hiMin,  N^ariiix  thrro 
pldiutliM.  iiulii'iiiiiiit  thitt  ittc  cliii'l  n'limit'tf  nl  llm  in'iipliMN 
U[»oii  nuTH-uliuii'  'I  liti  cn-hi  in  it  lii»r«*'H  lii'iiil,  Niip|Hirti>il  hy 
H  fullfittHl.Hir-burnMl  ht'ltnttt.  nwiiiin  im  n  viw — lh«  luttttV 
rradiii;  on  ihti  top  tit  llin  fttiMiti'limn  Tint  itnpiKtrlfuii  mo 
tliu  CihIiUwb  i)f  Litmrlytm  thfl  rutht.wilh  litir  winiil  uiiil  t'ltp, 
linr  loft  mm  n'slmic  on  Iha  nwntcIiMin;  nnil  i'VTvm  tin  tint 
Itttl^liHr  riitlit  hitiitl  ii«lii)K  lUi  thn  fwuitrJiittn,  una  htT  loll 
■upiHtrltnit  It  cniMiifoiitii,  fillet!  with  frnila  mul  floweni. 
AmniKl  tilt!  I>t)nli'r  itf  i|ih  M>itt  mr  lltt"  wnnln,  in  Ktiinmi  ci\\>- 
iUli,  **  Thtt  iirt>ul  Stiiil  of  thn  .stiiln  tif  Ni^w  Ji>riw*y,"  nml  rit 
tttt)  haKtt  thn  il.iit<  ttf  ilN  iiiloptmn,  m  nuiiit>nil  U^ttere, 
MI)'-('I,XXV|   (p-rii) 

J'otmMion  — In  IT^K),  IHl.rM  ;  lHin'!n,<»P);  lt*I0.2l.'iAV> ; 

18:xu>7':\a:.'..  iKui.if.M.tci,  ihih,  ;r/:i.;iiH'.;  isr^i,  iHi^.^^^ 
No.  t>f  Keprtwontuiivtv  in  CniiKnxiB,  ft ;  Klocl'l  voted,  7, 


Onu  of  the  Onitin:tl  hIiiUii. 

MvM.-.-An  u/uro  alinilil  or  twntWii»on,  tlivMoil  lnto|«*o 
t'fpi"!  I'lirtN  liy  It  whiln  Imiiit  or  mrilln  A  tiiw  m  ri'priwnitHl 
in  ihii  Inwi-r  pnrttiftlu'  nIiu'IiI,  iind  lu  thn  upiwr  jMirt  nn 
two  syinNiIs,  iIcHiitueil  prnlwililv  to  ri'prtwint  thn  n»rntulliinU 
iirtHliictionN  nf  Ihh  nIiUi-  --uriiin  inul  tnhinvn,  'I  hn  irt-rt 
(iiwritri)h)  mipiHirtNti  Nliip  nmlor  full  kiiiI,  iliKpInvthK  lint 
Anipnnni  Ihiiuut  On  n  whi'i'  ni-lil  nnmiiil  iJn-  fwinrlnini 
wmt  ttiinnttly  wrmithN  nf  Howrni,  hmnrhfn  nf  tin-  ohvu 
ttnit  other  nvnitM.lH,  tmi  thtute  havt*  Iim-ii  tlwpliifttl  Inr  two 
flfiun^H.  rt'prfwntinK  i*  innniicr  iinil  ft  hunirr.  At  Hit*  U>i 
tiininf  thn  will,  in  nnmnmln.  is  Ihw  ilnin  (ifll«  lulnption 
MiK'CXrin  {I7^>3),nntt  itnuinil  Ihti  Umlfr,  in  Hnnmn  cup 
italN,  ain  ihnwimlM.  "Onmt  Sriil  nf  the  Slntn  nf  iTliiwnrw' 

i'tfjni'ntiim   ---In  175Vi,  Mnxtti;  IWKi,  (H;27:)'    IHUl.TJ.ini 


1SV,7'J,71!»;   IK*!.  7n,74H  ;   JKld,  TH,***."! 


iHfKl.HIAnj 


o.  V,  (^,,.|T.;  ir\ni,  .ii,.in;  if*ni, /n,tin.i ;  itv«i,  H|ji;rj 
Nu.  of  UnjiroHuiitntivtw  m  VAingrvtm,  1 ;  Llect'l  vut«a.a 


■  KALH   OJf  TlIK   IHKKKUKNT  HTATKB. 


4-a 


Onmir  (lin  iirliliKil  Ni  ii, .. 

NKAI.  ...(Ill  II  w|„i„  ,„  „|„„  „,,|,|  I, 

•■, t '"'■'"  I"  II"'  '■••"in.  „l  III,,  i;,r,.„rw  ™  .„""""  '" 

«l..v,,lii.,  i.nr  vM.II "..■«l««l.«,,l.,,,Xrlir    I     At    „", 

1.1  »i.l..lr..l  wrmilh.llm  liu.*..  ,„i,|  .  ,.,?„„"',  *lll,Z 

„       lull  i.r .  •<..i,i„  li,w,|i„„,|,  „f  uilnuvm,  «tiil«,li,  nl  of     L 

^^I'l:  :;:;;,  i^'iii-iZi'ltl^lir:;;-!,-'-.  "- 


nn«  of  Dm  OriKiiiiil  sim.., 
fon  1. ,  »  i  .  nur""'"' '"'  ""^"'!     '"  'I'"  "ill  hmiU  ..7th. 

pimii,  I1II..I  will.  Ill"  :,'.\!'u   i:":;:;;'""'i„"[i '","'  'i' 

uroiiiul  I,  „  ,„„„„„  vmw,  iiMlriit  vu  of  1  In, ^v        ''*  '","''■ 

s.™r:.;'?,^';'t:;;i;',:'k::;:^:;^;:;::j,;;;.«"' ";."""«.  •" 'S 

I'oimltilum   -111  ITU),  .1HI,7.'il  ■  IMin  47S  lin     luin  f^j;  »«■ 
Nu.  uf'  H«,m«>m«tiv«,  m  (Joiiir™.',  H  i  £l«n  ,utii  W 


L 


On.'  of  lilt.  OnKiiml  stiit.'H 

M'.AI..— Oiiii  wliiiB  or  »ilvi,r  ll,,M  iIib  (;.,MnMof  VirliiB 

iiiiv  n.  .n.s,.|ii,.,l  hy  „  nmii  ,,r,i«trui..,  n  cn)»i   liUl.m  fn.m 
ins  rwlil     Oiiiilul».l  hIhivo  i  ic  Ikim'ii  la  ihowiml'vir 

1  ,?.,.■       fl"l'lwilli.il.'ll  l.«-alorii„lioii,il  mnhl.iiMM 
imiui  (I  iiiEui  III  tliti  nlwirvmict* '* 

JMU^uW;  i8.ui.  i,.'ii,iivi;  wi(i.i^).7„7.  IR-/1  •,.,., I.;;." 

^.^  of  Kuprraciitativt.  in  CT.„i,r,M,  |;i;  Kloofl  »im«.' is 


Oil"  of  Iho  Orwiuil  staliii. 
„,!lrV'~\"  "'"  ™"'"'  "''  "  wl">«  or  silv«r  fluid  is  ih.  ,i„. 

No.  of  Roiirewnlalivos  m  Coiiires,,8;'ElectT^;8. 


442 


TllK  I'KOl'LE'B  BOOK  OF  UI8T0KY. 


Ono  of  thr  Oridiiml  SihIm. 

SKAL. — In  Iho  reiitre  of  u  cimiilar  white  or  ailvwr  field 
nm  tlmsfl  pilliirH,  Minportinff  nn  urc.h,  nrtxim)  winch  is  pm- 
hliizoiuHl  thu  wdnl  '•{'iiiiRtitiiliou."  The  pillHrs  tin)  synilMil- 
«il  f  f  the  thOM)  ih^piirtnientM  of  Ihe  stuie  ffovemniru'  -itie 
I.vffiKliiiivc,  tlie  Jiuliciurv,  ami  the  h:x«)ciuive ;  (""1  (tn  the 
Olio  at  ihn  nRht,  npreiii^iiliug  ihe  l,cii""iniivi!,  in  Iho  woni 
"Wiwliini;  oil  Ihe  wvemil,  reprv'tin'iiie  Ihe  Jmlieiiiry,  is  tho 
word  *•  Justice;"  unit  on  tne  third,  repn*eiitiiMt  tlie  fexof'U 
livo,  isttie  wonl  •  M<Kloniliuii  "  Near  the  nRht  pillar  is  the 
fi^ui'.  of  ml  "incor  with  II  drawn  swonl.  dfiioliiiK  that  the 
omI  of  tlie  iniliiury  in  always  ready  to  onlorra  rrmpcct  and 
otHtlipiico  to  law.  Around  the  niancin  of  Iho  circle  are  the 
wonls,  "Malo  of  (icoFRm     1799" 

Pcim/n/iwi  — III  riK),  KfiiH ;  IHOO,  162,101  ;  1810,  252,433  : 
liWI,  aill.!IH7:  IKKUiHiJtn;  lH«l,«!)i;i!l2;  la*),  WHilWi. 

Nu.  uf  Kepreaoiitutives  in  Cuiign-w,  8 ;  Klect'l  vot«i,  lOi 


Admittcil  into  the  nni..ii,  lltrj 

SKAl, — AltiiouKh  the  seal  of  this  state  is  apparently  and 
really  noKniK  llie  niimt  simple  in  its  desimi.yet  it  enilMslies  a 
Hjffiiinraiice  wlijoh  shonld  Ciminiend  itnetf  to  the  seriotis  eon- 
sulunition  of  all  who  are  iliK|swed  to  place  a  shp.ht  value 
iip.in  the  union  of  the  Btates,  In  the  conlre  of  a  circiilur 
Winte  or  silver  tleld,  two  friends  are  seen  KnispiiiK  one  hiuid 
ot  e»<;h  other  in  a  limi  and  ronlial  eiiihriice,  while  the  other 
IS  extended  to  each  other's  Ijiic.k,  siKinticunt  of  enraiir- 
anenient  and  support.  Helow  thein  is  the  eipresaivo 
motto,  "United,  we  stiuid  ;  divided,  wo  liiU  "  An  oniii- 
nieiited  douhln  circle  enconipasiies  the  whole,  with  the 
worla,  "  ^eal  of  Kentucky"  hetween  the  lilies  ol  the  upK-r 
hnll-ciicie. 

/•ojni/odon  — In  ITSl),  73,im  :  18(10.  BO.aVi ;  IHIO,  40fi,^ll  • 
li«l,«>i;M7;   IKK).  ()H7,!)17  ;  miO,77!l^-JH  ;  IN^l,  >ita,lll,', 

Nttol  Kepresentatives  in  Coniaess,  10;  tleot'ljioios,  12. 


Admitted  into  the  Union,  l?il. 

SKAl. — A  <'ir(Miliir  tieid,  in  the  middle  of  which  Is  a  tnll 
pvenrreen  with  fourteen  hniiiches — thiiteen  represeiiting 
tlie  oriKlli.ti  Males,  and  the  foiincenth  or  topiii(K<t  the  slate 
of  Vemioiit  siipiMirted  hy  the  others.  Heneatli  a  cloiidlfwi 
flmiiiiiii'iit.  Ihe  (In'cn  Miniiiliiiiis  are  seen  lowcrtnii  in  the 
distance,  and  in  the  forefrroiind  are  sheaves  of  wheat  and  a 
cow,  indicative  of  an  ncricultiinil  and  ciiizinn  country,  af- 
fonliiie  the  true  soim'esof  tlmft  and  inde|ieiHlcnce  for  on 
industrious  (lopul.ii  lun  The  Gn^iii  Moiintniiis  have  ever  licen 
coiishlenslchanuiiristic  of  the  lianly  nice  which  inhiiliils 

that  nwim.     An d  iho  niannn  ot  the  licid,  in   lliMinin 

capitals,  the  wonl  "  Vermont"  csi'iipicslhc  up|kT  half-circle, 
and  the  wonls  "  I'reiHloni  and  Unity"  is'Ciipv  the  lower  half 

t'iljmlalum. — In  17<KI.Ki,41R:  IHlHl.  t.M.tli.'i :  1810.217,713  ■ 
1830,  2:i'i,7lit ;  IKW,  2HMi.',2  .  1810,  2ai,ntH  ,  IHMi,  :IU,120 

No  of  KeprcseiiiaUves  in  Conirresa,  :t ;  Kloiiond  voien,  .^ 


Adinittetl  into  the  riiioii,  nut, 

.SKA  I..— A  while  or  silver  cm'iilar  field,  the  np|ier  half  of 
which  is  iK-cil(MeiI  m  the  rililil  hy  a  ploiiuli,  m  ih,.  cciilie  hy 
a  shiuf  ol  wheal,  and  on  the  lell  hy  a  sliilk  of  colion  lii- 
ilenieath  these  eiiililcnu.  extendliui  ninina  Ihe  entire  iimldin 
ol  the  lii'lil.  IS  the  wonl  "Aitraullure."  dennliiii!  tliiil  the  fvn 
reliiuiceol  the  slate  should  Imi  ii|sin  the  pnsliicliinis  of  llie 
soil.  The  lower  liiilf  is  occupied  liv  a  h'ailcil  iMtrue.  with 
the  word  "I'omnnin'e  "  lielow  the  wa'ler,  indiialiiii!  Unit  iho 
pnifi|M>ntyol  all  may  lie  pnaiiottst  thniiiKli  this  iiii'iiiis  liver 
the  bheaf  of  wheat  are  the  llinnend  lellere  .Wl.  deiiolim 
that  this  was  the  siiteenth  Mate  admitted  into  the  riiiini. 
Aniuiid  Ihe  Ismler  ale  the  wonls.  "The  Great  .Sud  of  the 
Mate  of  Tennessee."  with  liie  date  KIMJ 

/■(ijni/ndon  —  In  I7M).  :l.^7!ll  ;  18(10.  1I1.M102;  IBIO.  ail.TJT; 
1820,122.81:1;  1830.  (iW,il(ll ;  IHlO,  H2!I,2I(I;  IK'iO,  l.lltrildl. 

No  of  Nepriaiiniiitivc!  in  'Ameres!.  I'J;  E!e-j'.'l  iuie=.li 


8KAL8  OF  THK  DIFFERENT  STATES. 


413 


A(lmitr#Ml  into  fhft  T'nidti   l^> 

a"t"   mj  "'  "'  "'"  ■^'""'  "f  l"""."  Willi  Urn 

^o.  of  l<c.pru«M,taliv«s  „,  Co.iRrms.  ai ;  Mecfl  voU«,23. 


Admittwt  intnthii  Union,  IHIO 
aKAL— 111  Ihu  lower  Ixiniiiii  of  n  nirculnr  (Iplil  in  mnm. 
"Olital  R  K-mm  .>f  pmirio  mul  wmiUliinH  with  Ihe  kikS^ 
T^l  Se'-h'.'^hr'r^""'"",'"' '""  I'^l^imiamfc  m™ 
niK  miKliiw  111  KTunl  nunilK,ni  in  this  rei?i,m,  nnn,miiv  start  Si 
by  tho  u,B„f  tt,«  w,„J„„u,  or  piomSr,  wK  S  m  ojl 
liilt,  folhnu  llii!  iriifs  of  the  foilest.  llcnot  nVtlio  n  areli^ 
wvili/ulion  w,«lwn„l  In  lh«  ilisti  luC'i "b.  neh  «  sum 
■..siin.  lust  ap,H!,mnK  lilx)ve  tlio  vurRo'of  thnhoriy,  n  TnS 
hulf-urclji,6p,iniiinB  tlic  ,.xi,res»,vt.  k«ii  i  bene  illi  aro  thS 

Wo.  uf  KoproueuUitivca  in  CoiigrcM,  11 ;  Klecfl  toI«i,  13. 


Aibnitlivl  into  the  I'mon    IMI'" 

.•oniiimon  w.Ui  the  en.hleins  tHmeuth  i^Lnnfc  1 1,',.,  ..       " 

No.  of  iie,«-aie,,fa,v,-«  ,„  r„„srr=B,  i ;  Electoral  vul«,,d. 


Admitted  into  the  Union,  1817. 
.|,!J  aI'',.;"''"  "'",'*'""'  "f  i>  wiiite  nr  silver  rircnlnr  flclil  in 
the  Amuniain  Kiitle,  wilh  wiile-spreiul  winim,  oa-oi.vinii  the 

.  ,?v  n  .     '  '"'  """"'•  '^"'i"  whr.tever  i-linie  or  .■onrilrv  llier 

]■  Jf^Tl   ""'"'■'"■"  l"'"'l>  '*"i"" 1  1"  In-iinu-s.  nod  are 

o.nleiit  to  rni««e  their  trust  umler  ih,.  Im.iul  »,iWs  of  he 
"liirU  of  hlwrly."  I„  the  riuhi  talon  ofibe  enil"  s  ^l  „  lie 
of  hnir  nrrows,  siwofirant  of  ,«,w,.r  to  sustai"  i  le  n  ,  'S 
ot  eoveniinent.  iinil  to  repel  tli,-  as.s,o.lts  of  ;,i  eiuMm  wffi 
iin  olive  hranrh  ,,,  ihe  lel\,  l»>i.4eiwa,l,,,H«  „riV,,7a\in  a m 
pea--e-    Aroun,l  the  outer  nrele,  iH^lwee,    paial  el    i  e "  are 

Ji^'ArXipi."""'™  ™""'""' •"''"»  ""■"'  ''■"'I  »f  tiio  i',;;^ 

I'lipiMiim. — In  ISTO,  saw-    IRIO    40112-    MtxlliHAa. 
£xo.  01  «oiire«.uluti»c»  ui  Congro8»,S;  Klecll  T0tM,7. 


44-i 


THK    TEOTLK'S    liOOK    OK   ItlSTOKY. 


AclmitttJ  intn  the  rni.m.  IRia 

SKA  I,. — III  (he  (vntm  t}\'  H  wliiiff  or  silver  oariitcheon  w  a 
rpprrscmntiim  of  Iho  Amrrirnn  ciiclc.  its  winpt  sprciul  so  ns 
tcilonrh  Ihn  iniii.'r  iimrKni  of  Urn  shii'Id.  In  ils  rislll  Inloii 
is tlie  pnihicm  of  is'nw,  nn  oiivd  Imiiu'll ;  whilo  lliree  niniws 
nrn  gr.isin-il  in  llip  left,  ilnnotin^'  its  reiiclincss  to  Misluin  lliii 
thrcfl  Kiinit  bniiii:lu\s  of  rov  erniiimt.  (Jii  ils  liroiist  is  un 
nsciltchcoii,  the  lower  half  of  which  is  n'|.rcsi'lilc<l  of  ii  rod 
roliiiir,  iiiul  the  upper  half  bine,  (he  hitler  lieuriiw  three 
while  or  silver  stars.  Knmi  its  honk  exienils  ii  hilml,  wav- 
ing III  the  iiir  iiliove  it,  wilh  the  iiisi-nptani  "  State  SovereiKn- 
ty:  Nntuiniil  rniim  "  In  the  upjier  partof  >i  ciirlfl  eiielosin^ 
the  shield  are  Hie  worils,  "Seal  of  ifie  Stale  of  llhnois,"  luiil 
in  the  lower  part  the  ilalu,  "  Aun't  ai,  IH18  " 

Pomlnhon — In  18111.1^,282;  1««1,  Sfi^Jll  ;  1830,  157,M5: 
181(1,  ITli.lKt ;  la-y),  851.170 

No.  of  lieprcseiiiutives  in  Cnnffress,  9 ;  Eloct'l  votes,  U. 


Admitted  into  the  Union,  182(1. 

SKAL. — A  while  or  silver  shield,  on  whirh  is  represented 
a  pine-tree,  with  a  nicsise-deer  re<ainilient  at  its  tiiise— em- 
lilematieal  of  the  vulaahle  tniilKir  of  the  state,  and  ol  Ihe 
security  and  rejiose  enjoyed  liy  the  animals  which  niiieu  ils 
innnense  forests  The  "  Kii|)|Miiiers  *'  are  n  manner  restiiifr on 
his  aiiehur,  and  a  tiusliaiiitinaii  with  his  »'ythe — denoiiii); 
that  eoninierce  and  iwricultnre  are  each  primary  re.viaiiria 
of  the  state.  Alsive  the  sliield  is  the  North  star.  Ix  inaili 
which  IS  the  motto.  Dingo—'  1  ilinict ;"  and  unilei  i  he  shield 
is  the  name  of  I  he  stale,  in  lloiiiiin  cnintals  ;  while  sea  anil 
land  compose  the  foreKnailid.  On  the  left,  the  tall  musts  iifa 
ship  arc  iM'rceptihle  iii  the  distance,  the  siuls  spread,  deimt- 
lliR  a  readiness  lor  coniniereiiil  eiili'rprise. 

J'oimto(/(nl.— In  17!l(l,  Otv'VtII ;  181KI,  LILVW;  18in,  228,71W: 
182(1,  2.')8;t:l.'") ;  ISKI,  MUSS;  IKIO,  .'<ll,7m,  IKSII,  .'Wl.llil). 

No.  of  Kepresenlutives  in  foiigresi,,  ti ;  Kiect'l  votes,  8. 


Admitted   iiitnlhe  riecni.  IHJO. 

SKAI,  -Nearly  ilie  eiiiireor  a  cireiilnr  field  IS  orcnpied 
with  ihe  iepie.«eiilatioiiof  a  map,  enilini''mi;  llie  names  ami 
lis'.ilities  ot  the  pnnciiKil  rivers  and  to'vns,  as  they  (•\i»t«l 
lit  Hie  time  when  the  lernlorial  covi'rimieiit  was  eslnliiished, 
1817.  A  (Kirtion  of  Kast  Florala.  eiiiliiaeiiis  ihe  lino  of  slir- 
fiieji  as  lar  as  rensanila,  is  inelialed  in  ilie  map.  as  nliai  a 
small  iHinioii  or'renili>s.''ee,sul1ieieiit  to  show  the  iHamdanes 
Da  either  sale  Aniniid  the  circle,  lietween  two  paralleilines. 
are  iiie  words,  m  Uoiiiaii  ciiiiitiils,  "Attihanm  Executive 
(Iflice  "  [  I  his  was  the  orimnal  seal  ileswned  ii,rthn  temtoiy 
and  it  was  allerwimls  adopted  by  the  state  on  its  iiilmiKsion' 
iii'o  the  Union,  and  has  remained  unehaiiRed  ever  sineu 
that  tiinel. 

;V);.ii/n/ien.— Ill  1820, 1?T,901  J  1830,30QJ27;  18)0,  .'iWrw  ■ 
mVI,T7l,()71.  '  '       ' 

No,  of  H?pmiipnlativci  in  Ctmcreaa.  7 ;  Elect'!  vnira:,  9 


Admitted  into  the  riiion.  1H21. 

SKAl, --Oil  a cllclllar^lneld.ellllally divided  hv ape n*n- 
dlciilar  line,  IS  a  ml  field  on  the  rinht  .sale,  in  wliali  is  llm 
"lute  or  eri7.zly  lieiir  of  Missouri.  Above,  seiiaialeil  by  a 
wavy  or  eiii  yed  line,  is  a  while  or  silver  (leseent.  in  an  anire 
liolil.  Oil  Iho  lell.  on  a  while  field,  iiie  Ihe  arms  of  Ilie 
United  Stales  A  band  sninaiiidMlie  eseiilelieoii  on  wliirli 
are  the  words,  "  rmled.  we  sliiiid  ;  divided,  we  lall  "  For 
the  crest,  over  a  yellow  or  wihlen  helmet,  full  laied.  anil 
RToied  with  SIX  bars,  is  a  silver  slar;  and  alnive  it,  a  cini- 
stelliition  ol  iwenty-ihree  smaller  s'lirs.  'I  he  sii|.[«inersnra 
two  (riiz/.ly  beais  standmi:  on  a  scroll  mscnlanl,  .v,i/i,.( ,i,,,i,;i 
st/;irrmn  hx  isln—-  t  he  public  safely  is  the  siipieiiie  law  " 
llldemealh  are  Ihe  nuuieials  ,\l|)i  l(  XX  .  and  aioiiiid  the 
ciri'le  the  words  "  The  (;real  Seal  of  Hie  Stale  of  .Mis.vnin  " 

I'lil'iiMiin —h,  1810,  2ll,8l.'i;  182(1,  CfvTSC ;  IM),  M0,l.')6; 
IRIO,  ;l»l,Tlr2 ;  IK'O,  fWiOll. '      ' 

.So.  oi  llcprcsciitotivtjs  m  Coiinreas,  7 ;  Elecfl  voles,  i. 


L_.J 


SEALS  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  STATES. 


445 


volt's,  a.  I 


AdmiltnJ  into  Ihe  tliiion,  IXKi 
n  J;1''>*J  ■  ~"'™m\''"<  lowiT  part  of  a  rifle  in  a  ,I,iri,i 
near  tho  linsu  of  whioh  is  a  wliifo  star  on  a  blue  tieW  renre- 
jeiitmr!  Ihe  stale.  In  the  nii<l.lle  rx.rtion  is  a  l™e-hiv o  S- 
lyilli;  iiulimlry,  ami  a  iiloimh.  ilenotiint  ajrnculture  ■  wh  b  a 
.  (...mlKiat,  oiiilileiiiat'ic  of  ron.mer™,  Hlh.  he  inneVDart 
for  lhe,Tc.,t,  Ihe  Bul,lu-«  of  l,lH.ny  i.,V,.p  Zt  Jwi  1,^^^^^ 
wand  inul  nap  m  one  hand,  and  i  wreath  <,f  hiurd  in  he 
other,  summ,uh.,l  l,y  u  nonsteUation  of  sUirs.  iriilSi"  e 
»ialB»  1  he  supiHiitem  are  two  eaKle»,one  Kmsping  a  him: 
lie  of  amiwi.,  and  the  other  an  olive  hrannh ;  a  InlKil  ™. 

a  lornncopa.  and  nroiinil  (he  cirele  whioh  enclose  the 
whole  ,m,  ilie  words,  -Seal  of  ihe  Mate  of  Arka  sas  " 

iJ^VMm  "*^'  '*'™'  '**•  *'•■'*•  '^"''  ^•5'li 

Kq.  of  Kepresentatives  in  rnni!Tess,2;  Elect!  votet,  i. 


Adl>iitted  into  the  Union  18« 

;r«^s--MSS^ 
|»;tsr^^,;^»^?'S^^teK-;^^o« 

mpiihnant  of  ihe  three  principal  rehanres  of  l' ,r1  m™m^ 
Z"i7„""'  ""culive,  the  leL'islnlive,  ami  tlie  j  idida  Tto™ 
th^  .hiw"'-"''' '"  "  "f'^i"-!"  'Iiirleen  stars  'n  I  matic^rf 
the  thirteen  oriRinal  stales  ;  ami  lielow,  the  sr,  111   ^  renro 

^"'a.rtr«nd  fo'l^'whH  „"™^'>-I«'-'  "  fn' ."cllmmrS, 
"l«t  me  K  "  '' ""  "[*'"!'""'«  motto  would  be, 

rorulatmn.~}n  imo,  31,730;  1810,  UAi7 :  m'ifl  (ffiw. 
No.  of  Kepresenlatives  in  Congress.  I ;  Kleit 'l  viie^'s!^ 


Admilted  into  Ihe  I'mon,  18,17, 

SKAU— (III  an  esruK'heon  in  ihe  renire  of  n  white  fii-ld 
Is  Ihe  represenlaiion  of  a  ,«.niu8iila  exiemlii  ,j  imo  a  I  k 
a  man  with  his  buii,  and  the  risini;  »,in  t)ii  he  u  wr  naft 
IS  tiie  wonl  />„&„■--■•  1  will  <!efe,id  il ,"  1,1,  n  a  E"?, 
telidin*  acriKs  tho  Iowit  part  is  the  motlo,  ,S  ,n.rrh,nin 
!ul,:m  nmiimm  nrnimsim—''  If  von  snk  ,  .1 .1,  .i!t.',';i ' 

tiy  (PLimisuho,  h,.iK,id  ',t."  riiV.;;; ,  ;;r?j  s''  ,^  J  '^n™:,;; 

deer  m  ih,.  i,:'!,!,  and  a  nmK,-  on  lie  1,.(1  |K,.h  ■  I ,™ 
mlio  loiv,viH  o,  Michwan.    For  the  ores     ,11,0  a     .m'n 
eiislo;  ahovo  whu-h,  on  a  lalH;1  wnvinj  iilmv  '  a      , 
niutio,  E  nlunl,m  unum     Aminid  the  outer  nm^lo  hetw,™ 
tw,.  |«rallel  lines  are  Ihe  wonls,"Th«  Ore.it  SeaJ   ,f    m 
Stnleot  .Ml^lll^1Ul,"  and  "  A    I).  .MllrCl-X.XVV  " 

PoinUntmn — In  IBID,  4,702:    ItO)  hiiofi"-    imn   11 /-xi 
810,  211.V!I57  ;  IRVl.  W7.0,M  i"^.  ".»«),    1830,  31,(09; 


Atlniittwl  iu^o  the  I'liKm  iKri 

;:;^"n'::a^ai^'sri^i-d";':  £ ; ,  'i;^^^^ 
^S'a;'SirSh^''::^".;i-r'bii;S 

I  .'xas     in  the  np|H,r  hnlf-ciiTle.  the  f  rinn  s  ■■  I  I„ls  7»  '^ 

!;^rn^ti:s:;';,f^r^'^^s;^r's'-2; 

Ponut/rtinii — In  [WJt  '^12-'iff* 

No  of  l<rpresentaTrve;mt^,nCTe«s,2;  Klectoral  vnta.,  4. 


1040 


INCLUDING    ILLUSTBATIONS. 


Admitted  into  tlie  Union,  1»16. 

SKAL— UliuBomeof  tlie  other  states  which  enjoyed  a 
tfirrllonnl  existence  fur  a  lenpli  of  tlnio  Ixifore  they  were 
myeslea  witli  tlio  dijtiuty  of  stales,  lowii  still  reUiiiis  har 
onKiniil  seal,  the  device  of  which  is  perhups  more  sininlo 
and  cxiiressive  tlmu  that  of  any  other  slate.  In  the  ceiii  lo 
of  a  wliite  or  silvercirculnr  field  is  an  ea^le  in  the  attitude 
of  Hiclit,  RrnspinK  in  i'«  riiiht  talon  i  Ihiw,  its  lell  talon  just 
yisihle  within  the  inner  circle  around  the  field,  and  holding 
in  Its  liciik  a  single  arrow.  'Ihe  wonis, "  Seal  of  the  Tenr- 
lory  of  Iowa,"  form  nearly  a  complete  circle  aiound  the 
flekl,  loavmR  a  blank  space  at  the  lower  part,  and  those 
apim  lire  surrounded  hy  wliite  circular  dots,  on  a  hlack 
ground. 

Poimtatim  —In  1810, 43,112 ;  mw.  102514. 

No.  of  Representatives  in  Congress,  2 ;  Electoral  rotea,  4. 


Admitted  into  the  1lni<in,  IKW. 

SEAL  — In  the  foreground,  on  the  left,  Minerva  is  seated 
OD  a  rock  near  Ihe  bank  of  an  extensive  bay  or  river,  whirJi 
winds  its  course  amoiifl  the  majestic  mounUiins  on  either 
siile.  Her  spear  is  erasped  in  the  rinht  hand,  while  the  left 
rests  on  the  top  of  her  sliield  by  her  side ;  near  which  is 
a  gnzzly  liuar,  swiulicant  of  the  snowy  rei?ion  round  about 
On  the  riiiht  is  u  hardy  miner  with  his  pick,  seekine  the 
golden  treasures  secreted  umonn  the  nicks.  AIouk  'he  cen- 
tre is  seen  a  majestic  bay,  with  two  clippers  in  full  view 
iiulicatiug  that  roiiimerce  is  one  of  the  chiof  reliances  of  the' 
people.  Aliove  the  snow-covered  mountains,  which  Iwund 
the  view,  is  the  Greek  word  Eurtka — "  1  tiave  found ;"  and 
over  all  is  a  circle  of  silver  stars. 

Population — Acconlins  to  a  censtis  ordemd  by  the  state, 
the  p4)puhi,ion  in  \Wi  was  reUmieil  as  2t>l,.ia5 

No.  of  Heprescntatives  in  ConKresa,  2 ;  Electoral  votes,  4 


Admitted  into  the  Union,  1847. 

SKA  I,. — A  hirKe  portion  of  the  field  is  occupinl  by  land 
and  water  srcneiv,  deiiotinit  the  nirricultund.  comiiieiciul, 
and  niininir  inlen-sls  of  the  stale.  In  Ihe  forc^Bmund  is  a 
man  plou;iliiiii!  »iih  ii  span  of  horses ;  in  the  middle  is  a  pile 
of  Imid  in  burs,  a  litirrel.a  rikc.a  sheafof  wheat,  an  anchor, 
and  a  coniiicopin,  hikes  MichiiTini  and  8u|H:rior,  are  reprc- 
BPnti-d  with  a  sIiKip  on  the  former,  and  a  steHinlKiat  on  the 
latto.-.  tow.iuls  which  an  Imlinii  on  Ihe  shore  is  |«>intinff.  In 
the  distance  is  a  level  urairie,  skiited  by  a  roiiijo  of  wood- 
land—a  liEht-house  and  school-house  on  the  kn,  .nul  the 
mate-house  in  ilie  centre  In  a  semi-circle  aliove  are  tlie 
wonls  Cii'i/itoj  s  ircessit  Barbamm — "rivili-ialion  hassiic- 
cccilcd  lit  I'lurisir ."  At  the  Inilioni  is  the  dale  when  a  tcr- 
riloriul  pivi .  "■  -  nt  was  formed.  "  Fnunh  of  July.  1KI6 ;" 
and  around  llin  whole  are  the  wonls  "The  Great  Seal  of 
die  'rerriloiy  of  Wisconsin."  which  has  not  yet  been  chtmet-il 

PopuAl/ion.— In  mn.aoJM.'i;  18M1.  305.191. 

No.  of  i!eprc»eatalive»  in  LougieM,  3 ;  tlectoral  votes,  S. 


ronstitutiou  adopfetl.Septemlier  17, 17W. 

SKAL. — 'Ihe  following  is  the  ro<',orded  description  of  the 
device  of  Ihe  seal  of  the  United  State,'*,  as  lulopted  by  Con- 
gre.ss  on  the  l.'Oth  of  June,  ITWi ;  "  Arms:  Paleways  of  thir- 
teen pieces,  argent  and  gules ;  a  chief  azure ;  the  e!(cntj'.h- 
eoii  oil  the  breiust  of  the  American  eagle  displayetl,  pniper, 
holding  in  his  dexter  talon  an  olive  branch,  and  in  his  siiiis- 
ter  a  bundle  of  thirteen  arrows,  nil  proper,  and  in  his  lieak  a 
scroll  inscril)e<i  with  this  mol\»,  E  phmbtis  unum.  For  the 
cre.st  I  Over  the  head  of  the  eagle,  which  apiiears  alwve  the 
escutcheon,  a  glory,  or,  breaking  through  a  cloud.  pro[ier,  and 
siiri-oiiiiding  thirteen  stars  forming  a  constellation,  argent, 
on  an  azure  field." 

i'o;m;<itimi  — In  1700,  3.029JB7;  1800,  5305,941:  1810, 
73.«,RM;  1R20,  9,(538,101 ;  1830,12,866,020:  1840,17,069,463, 
la'J),  23.203.  !«8. 

No.  of  Heprescntatives,  234:  Delerates.  6:  SflnntonL  62: 
Klei;l*inil  votes,  '^Jii. 


Ti  is  seated 
iver,  which 
I  oil  either 
lile  the  left 
irwhirh  is 
und  about. 
«okinK  the 
ng  the  cen- 
1  full  view, 
.nces  of  the 
i)ch  Ixmnd 
unU ;"  and 

rthe  stat«, 

al  votes,! 


ion  nf  th« 
A  by  Coil- 
ys  of  tliir- 
j  escutj'.h- 
pd,  pntpor, 
\m  sinis- 
hut  Iteak  a 
For  the 
alwvQ  the 
rc)|)er,«rRl 
>n,  urgent, 

41;  1810, 
.7,069,153 . 


